Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous Mario Kart games, with players controlling characters from the Mario series and other Nintendo characters in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario series populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races. Different difficulties are selectable prior to a race; harder difficulties make gameplay faster. In the new anti-gravity sequences, players drive on walls and ceilings. Mario Kart 8 contains a variety of single-player and local and online multiplayer game modes, including Grand Prix racing and arena-based battle modes.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 2014
- Developer
- Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 29 May 2014 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Nintendo Wii U |
| Genres | Racing |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q13427106, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Mario Kart 8? How long to beat it
Total play time for Mario Kart 8 is about 45.6 hours to do everything, and around 6.1 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 6.1h | 233 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 19.6h | 201 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 45.6h | 125 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Mario Kart 8 sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Mario Kart 8 lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 81ahead of 39% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 66ahead of 98% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Mario Kart 8
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Mario Kart 8 appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Mario Kart 8 qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Mario Kart 8
What platforms is Mario Kart 8 on?
Mario Kart 8 is available on Nintendo Wii U. It first released in 2014.
Who made Mario Kart 8?
Mario Kart 8 was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat Mario Kart 8?
about 6.1 hours for the main story, 19.6 hours with the main extras, 45.6 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.