About 3 months after the release of Mario Kart Tour on smartphones, Nintendo is finally starting some multiplayer beta testing. First reported by Siliconera, the PvP beta is now running and will be available until December 27, 2019. However, it is not available to all players. For now, the beta test is only available to players who subscribe to the game's $4.99 / £4.99 Gold Pass, which features in-game items, badges, and a 200cc mode. And beta access, apparently.
On your marks...
The Gold Pass has a two-week free trial period and those who have a trial period also get access to the beta, so you can still sign up to try the beta for yourself. If you decide this isn't for you, be sure to unsubscribe when you're done to avoid unwanted charges. Since this is a beta test, Nintendo warns participants that not everything will work perfectly; there is a risk of a crash (the game, not your kart), lag, connection issues, and possibly battery drain. This is completely normal for the beta course. We hope all these issues will be resolved by launching full mode for everyone. However, it should be noted that those who participate in the beta will not be able to transfer their multiplayer backup data to the full version. Multiplayer racing is something that players have come to expect before the game was released, which is understandable since playing against other real people is a definite and enjoyable part of the Mario Kart experience. Since this is a limited-time, limited-access beta, it's unclear when full multiplayer capabilities will be introduced to Mario Kart Tour, but it's likely that fans hope they won't have to wait much longer, especially those who were surprised. PvP not being available at launch.