Despite the memes to the contrary, Nintendo doesn’t tend to shut down as many fan projects as people think. Okay, they went after titles like Another Metroid 2 Remake and Pokémon Uranium, as well as the occasional Zelda movie…
But as a rule of thumb, the percentage of fan projects killed by the company is generally on the lower side. Unless it’s blatantly competing with a current Nintendo title, or trying to make money from its fans, the company usually seems to leave it alone.
Sometimes though, things are a little clearer. Sometimes a fan project is so ridiculously audacious you have to wonder how anyone thought it was a good idea at all.
Like today’s project of the moment. A full-blown Mario Kart 8 Deluxe port that was entirely playable in a web browser:
No, we’re not kidding. Someone took Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and used AI tools to port the whole thing to PC as a free browser game. Every single character, track, item and mechanic was included, along with any and all modes found in the original Switch title. Take a look:
Yeah, this could not be more blatant a ripoff if it tried. The whole of the game was present and accounted for, and accessible for free for anyone with an internet connection.
Of course, it didn’t exactly work very well. As this tweet by Twitter user HumidSpark demonstrates, the game was a laggy mess that looked awful and ran like a Switch emulator from 2017:
runs like garbage btw 🥹 https://t.co/W1LaT99lI4
— humid (@humidspark) October 12, 2026
So, anyone looking for a good alternative to the original game was better served with an emulator here.
But as far as Nintendo was concerned, that was irrelevant. Their best-selling Switch game was now available online for free, and was going viral on Twitter and TikTok because of that.
Hence the company quickly nuked the project from orbit. The original viral video was removed from Twitter, and the website owner presumably threatened with a cease and desist shortly afterwards. As a result, the only thing left on the website is a redirect to the following image, and that’s it:
And to say we’re unsurprised is probably the understatement of the year. Remember, if there’s anything Nintendo dislikes about certain fan projects, it’s direct competition and brand confusion. If a fanwork looks like an official product and comes up when you search for such, it’s seen as a direct threat to the company.
This one hit that mark in every way. Indeed, if the recent Lost in Hyrule film fiasco was as reckless as walking into the lion’s den with a bag of steaks, this was like walking into the lion’s den with the steaks while also screaming at max volume into a microphone and throwing rocks at the lion. Heck, as far as Nintendo’s lawyers were concerned, this was almost like someone had rocked up to the company headquarters dressed as Mario and tried hawking them flashcarts.
So, we’re not surprised the whole thing got taken down in just 3 days. A knockoff this blatant was doomed from the get go.
Still, what are your thoughts here? Did you try this Mario Kart 8 Deluxe browser port before it’s inevitable takedown? What are some of the craziest fanworks you’ve seen online in recent weeks?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
Source:
Mario Kart 8 Online Tweet by Temzy (video removed by Nintendo)