Nexon's KartRider: Drift to be released by Nexon on Thursday

Nexon's KartRider: Drift, released thursday as pre-season play. [NEXON]

Nexon's KartRider: Drift was released Thursday.

Developed by Nitro Studio and published by Nexon, KartRider: Drift is a casual racing game and a sequel to Nexon’s Crazyracing KartRider PC game released first in 2004.

KartRider: Drift was developed from the ground up, providing a brand new experience for existing and new players while continuing to expand on the iconic themes and characters in the 2004 game.

It is available for mobile devices and PCs.

KartRider: Drift will support 4K UHD high-definition graphics and HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Atmos sound settings. It is the first Korean game to support Dolby Atmos.

The game has been made available for pre-season play, which means that an update will be made on the game for a regular season and it will also be available on console. A date for the regular reason release has not been set yet, according to a Nexon spokesperson.

During the pre-season, players will be able to play on the “World Gangnam Street,” a map based on Gangnam Station, central Seoul, with newly designed but iconic kart vehicles and characters, reminiscent of the 2004 game CrazyRacing KartRider.

Nexon also emphasized that it guarantee players the fairest playing ground possible, minimizing the need for pay to get ahead.

Crazyracing KartRider, the predecessor, is schedule for shut down in 2022 March, after the full release of the sequel, KartRider: Drift.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]