Mario Kart 64 Modders Are Porting the Game to PC

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A team of Mario Kart 64 modders are porting the iconic game from the Nintendo 64 to the PC, developing a native port of the racing game. The Mario Kart franchise has grown into one of the most beloved spinoffs of Nintendo's flagship franchise, typically receiving a new game on each console. The recent release of the Switch 2 was no different, with Mario Kart World launching alongside the console and bringing an open world to the Mario Kart franchise. However, one particular entry in the franchise marked a major moment for Mario Kart.

Mario Kart 64 served as the second entry in the franchise and broke new ground as the first 3D game in the series. The game featured eight different characters for players to choose from, with Mario Kart 64 offering sixteen different courses to tackle alongside a small selection of Battle-exclusive tracks. While Mario Kart 64 has never seen an official full-scale port to a newer Nintendo console, the game is included with Nintendo Switch Online's lineup of Nintendo 64 games. Now, a passionate group of fans have brought Mario Kart 64 to PC.

As reported by Time Extension, indie mod team Harbour Masters has officially unveiled their PC native port of Mario Kart 64, dubbing the port as "SpaghettiKart." The reveal trailer shows off a native PC port of Mario Kart 64, complete with all of the original characters and tracks from the Nintendo 64 version. The port notably does not contain any of the original code for Mario Kart 64, however, with players still needing to provide a ROM file of Mario Kart 64 for the port to function. The dev team did tease that "custom track support" is included, with fans potentially able to create their own courses.

The impressive Mario Kart 64 PC port is far from the first time fans have strived to bring classic Nintendo games to PC. A PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was previously in development before being shut down by Nintendo, with the ambitious project aiming to provide improved framerate and widescreen support. Nintendo has often taken similar legal action against fan games and ports, with the developer being notoriously protective of its intellectual property. Nintendo has never officially ported any of its major franchises to PC.

Mario Kart 64's fanmade PC port comes as the newest entry in the franchise has been making waves for Nintendo. The highly-anticipated release of the Switch 2 broke U.S. sales records in its opening week, with Mario Kart World reportedly standing as the console's best-selling game. Mario Kart World has also already received its first post-launch updates, making a number of bug fixes improving the experience of the Switch 2's flagship launch title. The impressive fan port of Mario Kart 64 will give fans the opportunity to look back at an iconic entry for the beloved franchise.