What genre is the Mario Kart series usually classified as?

Mario Kart is usually classified as a kart racing series.

Kart racing is a subgenre of racing games that combines simplified driving with exaggerated tracks, obstacles, power-ups, and attacks against opponents. Mario Kart adds those arcade-style features to characters and settings from Nintendo’s Mario franchise, making the classification more specific than simply “racing game.”

The series began with Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. Its design was influenced partly by the need to create a multiplayer racing game on hardware that could not easily reproduce the high-speed scale of F-Zero. The developers emphasized tight turns and combat items, helping establish the modern kart-racing formula.

A common mix-up is calling Mario Kart a platformer because its characters originate in platform games. However, the gameplay centers on driving, drifting, overtaking, and item use. “Puzzle racing” and “rhythm game” describe other genres, not the series’ defining format.