Mario Kart: 4 Open Source Clones Compared
Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers and SRB2Kart share the same lineage — both are built on the Sonic Robo Blast 2 codebase, itself a modified Doom Legacy engine — but Ring Racers is the actively developed one, while SRB2Kart's development has halted. The Kartering is structurally different from all three: it has no direct human input, instead being controlled by networked clients that send bitmask commands over a raw TCP/JSON protocol, making it built for AI clients rather than being playable in the ordinary sense. SuperTuxKart is unrelated to the SRB2 lineage, ships its own assets, and is the only one of the four with Switch support alongside its other platforms.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, OSX, Windows, Android, Switch
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- Android
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 5,352
- Contributors
- 278
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThe game ships with its own assets and does not require original Mario Kart data.
- Multiplayer
- Online
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 418
- Contributors
- 66
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 14d ago
- Stars
- 340
- Contributors
- 128
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoA fan game based on modified Doom Legacy and Sonic Robo Blast 2, not dependent on original game assets.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 4y ago
- Stars
- 14
- Contributors
- 11
- License
- —
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Multiplayer
- Multiplayer
| Title | SuperTuxKart | SRB2Kart | Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers | The Kartering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Semi-playable |
| Platforms | Linux, OSX, Windows, Android, Switch | Windows, Linux, OSX | Linux, Windows, OSX | Windows, Linux |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | Android | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||
| Development status | Active | Halted | Active | Halted |
| Last updated | today | 2y ago | 14d ago | 4y ago |
| Stars | 5,352 | 418 | 340 | 14 |
| Contributors | 278 | 66 | 128 | 11 |
| License | — | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | — |
| Engine | — | SDL2 | SDL2 | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | ||||
| Requires original assets | NoThe game ships with its own assets and does not require original Mario Kart data. | — | NoA fan game based on modified Doom Legacy and Sonic Robo Blast 2, not dependent on original game assets. | — |
| Multiplayer | Online | — | — | Multiplayer |
| Preview | | |
Frequently asked questions
Are the Mario Kart clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Mario Kart clones use?
SRB2Kart and Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers (GPL-2.0).
Do I need to own the original Mario Kart to play these clones?
SuperTuxKart and Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers run standalone, no original files needed.
Which Mario Kart clone is the most actively maintained?
SuperTuxKart and Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Mario Kart.