The Karters

The Karters is a PC arcade kart racer whose current rebooted storefront identity is The Karters 2: Turbo Charged. Developed and published by Pixel Edge Games, it combines Crash Team Racing-inspired drifting with weapon-based racing, competitive time trials, split-screen multiplayer, ranked online events, and extensive Steam Workshop mod support.

Why The Karters name now refers to two different games

The original The Karters was released as an earlier version of the project and is no longer the main storefront focus. Pixel Edge Games later separated the reboot from that release by giving it the new name The Karters 2: Turbo Charged and placing it on a separate Steam product page.

This distinction matters when searching for guides, reviews, gameplay footage, or a PC purchase. The sequel-branded version is not simply a routine update to the first game. It is presented as a substantially rebuilt kart racer with a different content structure, expanded multiplayer systems, Workshop integration, and a more skill-focused approach to driving.

Drifting, reserves, weapons, and route control

The core loop is built around arcade kart racing rather than realistic motorsport. Races combine acceleration, cornering, item usage, shortcuts, and aggressive recovery after collisions. The handling is heavily inspired by Crash Team Racing, making drift timing and maintaining speed through corners more important than simply holding the accelerator.

A defining mechanic is the engine power-reserves system. Skilled driving can build reserves that increase the kart's available speed, creating a stronger reward for clean drifts and consistent laps. The system gives experienced players a way to create separation through execution instead of relying entirely on random item drops.

Weapons and defensive tools add the expected combat-racing layer, but the overall design aims to support deliberate play rather than pure chaos. Players must decide when to attack, when to protect a lead, and when to prioritize a shortcut or boost line. Alternative routes and track knowledge are important in both ordinary races and time-trial competition.

The camera uses a standard third-person chase perspective suited to reading corners, hazards, opponents, and item interactions. The result is accessible for casual sessions, while the reserve system, drift control, ghost racing, and leaderboard competition give dedicated players several ways to improve.

Modes and competitive structure

The current Early Access version includes a broad set of racing and battle activities rather than a single championship loop. The main options include Race, Time Trial, Duo-Time Trial, battle events, Elimination, Road Breaker, and Quick Cut.

Time Trial removes the pressure of direct item combat and focuses attention on racing lines, drift timing, shortcuts, and reserve management. Ghost features allow players to compare runs against personal records and leaderboard data, making the mode useful for structured practice instead of simple score chasing.

Online competition includes ranked matchmaking, dedicated servers, global rankings, monthly and all-time ELO ratings, tournaments, and cups that can extend across many rounds. Team-versus-team play is available both locally and online, adding a cooperative layer to a genre usually built around individual finishing positions.

The current build also includes a single-player challenge campaign. A larger story mode remains part of the planned full-release direction, so players should treat the existing campaign as the available solo progression rather than assuming that a complete narrative adventure is already present.

Tracks, arenas, customization, and Workshop content

The store listing identifies 16 official race tracks and 6 battle arenas in the current version. That gives the base game a clear competitive foundation before community content is considered. Race tracks are designed around speed management, route choices, hazards, and the game's boost and reserve systems.

Steam Workshop support is one of the game's most important PC features. Players can browse and install community-made tracks, characters, vehicles, wheels, and stickers through the game's mod ecosystem. The Workshop significantly expands the catalog beyond the official tracks and gives the game a more open-ended structure than a fixed-content kart racer.

The planned roadmap also includes an in-game track editor for creating and sharing courses directly within the game. That editor should not be confused with the Workshop tools already available. Workshop support is present now, while the integrated editor is part of the future full-release feature set.

The commercial model is a paid base game in Early Access rather than a free-to-play service. The storefront also lists a separate soundtrack add-on. The core racing content, official tracks, battle arenas, multiplayer modes, campaign challenges, rankings, and Workshop integration are part of the main game listing.

Local multiplayer and PC platform features

For couch play, split-screen supports up to six players on one PC. The game also supports split-screen participation in online matches, allowing local players to share a system while joining broader multiplayer sessions. Steam Remote Play Together is listed as an additional option for playing with friends remotely.

PC players can use keyboard controls or gamepads, and recent updates have added clearer Xbox controller and Steam Controller button prompts, input rebinding improvements, and controller vibration settings. The interface is designed to be navigated with keyboard and controller, although mouse support has been identified by the developers as a feature planned for the full release rather than a current priority.

The game is available through Steam and includes Steam Cloud, achievements, Workshop integration, Remote Play Together, online PvP, online co-op, local PvP, and local co-op. Steam Deck support is also a specific part of the current PC ecosystem, with ongoing performance and interface improvements aimed at handheld play.

Localization covers English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Latin American Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian for interface and subtitle text. English is the listed full-audio language.

Who should play The Karters 2: Turbo Charged?

The game is a strong fit for PC players who want technical arcade karting, local multiplayer, competitive time trials, or a mod-friendly racing platform. It is especially appealing to players who enjoy learning drift systems and shortcuts rather than treating every race as a purely luck-driven item battle.

Players who prefer polished crossover kart racing with transforming vehicles may also want to compare its route variety with arcade kart racers built around changing vehicle types like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Those games share colorful action-racing DNA, but The Karters 2 places more emphasis on reserves, Workshop content, and competitive progression.

It is less suitable for anyone looking for a finished story campaign, realistic vehicle simulation, or a completely static feature set. Early Access status means the scope can continue to change, particularly around the planned story mode, track editor, additional modes, and future content.

Similar PC kart racers

The Karters 2: Turbo Charged sits between party-oriented kart racing and more demanding arcade competition. Its closest mechanical reference is Crash Team Racing-style drifting, while its PC identity comes from dedicated servers, ranked systems, local six-player support, and mod distribution.

For a more team-oriented alternative, cooperative arcade kart racing with shared power-ups in Team Sonic Racing offers a different competitive structure built around coordinated driving. The Karters 2 instead keeps the spotlight on individual execution, combat decisions, time trials, and community-created content.

The Karters PC FAQ

Is The Karters now called The Karters 2: Turbo Charged?

The original game and the reboot are separate Steam products. The current rebooted version is named The Karters 2: Turbo Charged, while the 2018 release remains associated with the shorter The Karters name.

Is The Karters 2: Turbo Charged a finished game?

No. It is currently an Early Access PC game. The existing version includes the core race tracks, battle arenas, modes, campaign challenges, multiplayer systems, rankings, and Workshop support, while a full story mode and integrated track editor are planned additions.

Does it support six-player local multiplayer?

Yes. The current PC version supports split-screen play for up to six players. Split-screen players can also participate in online sessions through the game's multiplayer systems.

Does The Karters 2 support mods?

Yes. Steam Workshop support includes community-made tracks, characters, vehicles, wheels, and stickers, with in-game browsing and installation options.

Does it have online ranked racing?

Yes. The online feature set includes ranked races, dedicated servers, global leaderboards, monthly and all-time ELO rankings, tournaments, cups, and team-versus-team events.

What languages does the PC version support?

The interface and subtitles support 17 listed languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Arabic, and Czech. English is listed for full audio.

Does the game support controllers?

Yes. Gamepad input is supported alongside keyboard controls, with controller prompts, input rebinding, and vibration settings available in the current PC version.