An ambitious YouTube user has created a playable version of Mario Kart within the confines of a single YouTube video, complete with multiple characters and fully controllable karts. The Mario Kart YouTube project features seven iconic cast members and one of the franchise’s most recognizable courses.
Nintendo’s beloved kart-racing franchise has seen many different iterations across the developer’s home consoles and handheld devices. Beginning with the release of Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo in 1992, the series has done everything from tag-team races in Mario Kart: Double Dash to the open-world concept of Mario Kart World. The series has come to nearly every Nintendo console since its debut, including handheld games like Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart 7. Now, a new YouTube project has made Mario Kart playable on one of its strangest platforms yet.
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Mario Kart is Now Playable in a YouTube Video
A YouTube video uploaded by Atlas Arcade and Animated Subtitles brings a playable version of Mario Kart to YouTube. The video features players using the W, A, and D keys to control their racer down a segment of Mario Kart‘s iconic Rainbow Road, aiming to keep their racer on the track until the end. Players can choose between seven different characters by changing the video’s subtitles, with Mario, Toad, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Luigi, Wario, and Bowser available to play. The description for the video says that it was coded in HTML, with Python used for some of the additional assets and animations. The video has already been a hit with fans, amassing more than 560,000 views within just nine days of being uploaded.
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The ambitious Mario Kart project saw plenty of praise from fans in the comments for the video. One fan likened the YouTube game to a return to the Flash games that dominated the online space in its early days, using Adobe Flash Player to both create original games and re-imagine console classics in web browsers. Many fans were eager to see more of the YouTube Mario Kart adaptation, asking Atlas Arcade to make a longer version of the video featuring a full Mario Kart course. The video also uses YouTube’s playback speed as a difficulty rating, encouraging players to increase the speed of the video for a tougher challenge.
Mario Kart‘s overwhelming popularity with Nintendo fans has seen many creative gamers look to replicate the franchise’s beloved staples. One Mario Kart fan created their own version of Rainbow Road in life simulation game Pokopia, suspended high above the game’s world and using the Graveler transformation to race along the beloved track. The game’s unique racing style, combining go-kart racing with random item drops, has also inspired plenty of competitors to give their own spin on the genre, like Sonic Racing and Nickelodeon Kart Racers.
The YouTube version of Mario Kart cements its legacy even further as one of Nintendo’s most cherished franchises. Mario Kart games frequently rank among the highest-selling games on their consoles, often bundled as launch titles with a new platform. Nintendo’s past three home consoles have all seen a Mario Kart game hold the title of highest-selling game on the platform, including 2025’s Mario Kart World already selling millions of copies worldwide. Nintendo has built the Mario Kart franchise into a golden goose for the company, and the franchise’s popularity will endure for years to come.
