Thank you to everyone who is enjoying KartRider: Drift and sharing their thoughts with us. We are always glad to receive your valuable feedback. There is still room for improvement, and we apologize for any shortcomings. We will continue to strive for a satisfying gaming experience for all of our Racers by continually improving based on your feedback.

In this Dev Blog, I would like to share the key details of the upcoming March 20th (PT) update. The main focus of the March update is the theme "Northeu", and expanding on the improvements from the RISE update.

Firstly, allow me to discuss the "Northeu" Theme. This update introduces 3 new Northeu Theme characters and 10 new tracks. All 3 new characters have their own unique skills that can be used in Item Mode, and we added eight classic Northeu Kartrider tracks, plus two brand new tracks that are exclusive to KartRider: Drift.

This new batch of tracks consists of 6 Common tracks and 4 Speed Mode tracks. As we previously stated, the direction going forward is to include a selection of Speed Mode tracks with each new release. Additionally, we are well aware that many Racers are eagerly awaiting the release of popular tracks from the original game’s "Normal Random" and "Hard Random" modes, and we will do our best to hurry and introduce these tracks to KartRider: Drift as soon as we can.

Next, let's move on to the Ranked Queue. We are aware that there were many issues with Ranked Queue upon its introduction to the game, and we sincerely apologize for those problems. While we addressed what we could in real-time as soon as possible, we apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delayed response in other areas. These are the improvements the March update will bring to Ranked Queue.

Firstly, rematching will no longer be available in Solo Speed Mode and Solo Item Mode. We regret needing to restrict the rematch feature from solo play, but it has been observed that Racers would form alliances and assist each other during gameplay in ways that undermine the fairness of the game.

Furthermore, we think the fundamental cause of many Ranked Queue-related issues is because the earned scores were too low, and we are planning to lower the difficulty of earning Ranked Queue points to make it easier to climb the ranks. By introducing more precise matchmaking ratings and providing tracks with appropriate difficulty, we plan to continue making improvements aimed at ensuring fairness in matchmaking. We will adjust as quickly as possible to areas that can be hotfixed live, without time-consuming processes like platform reviews.

We are still closely studying and reviewing our data and we plan to make improvements so Racers can reach higher rank easily during the Ranked Queue.

We are also investigating the issue of players exploiting Win Streak Bonuses by disconnecting from the game, as identified earlier in the update. While it is our intention to promptly investigate and take action where necessary while providing updates through announcements, the analysis of matchmaking-related data is extensive, and determining the proper criteria to identify problematic behavior is not a simple task and is taking longer than we would like.

We are thoroughly analyzing the data from many perspectives to prevent any undeserved punishment (like banning). Based on the results, we plan to take appropriate action in accordance with our operational policies before the end of this Ranked Queue period. We apologize for the delay in the investigation. We strongly discourage any behavior that compromises the fairness of KartRider: Drift, and we assure you that appropriate action will be taken against those found to have engaged in blatant exploitation.

Now to UX/UI improvements. A "Ready" button is being added to the Matching Stage, which allows the race to start immediately once all Racers are ready, even if there is remaining waiting time.

We've also improved the Choose Track UI in Time Attack and Custom Races. You will be able to choose Track Themes via a filter, or use a Sorting function to find the Themes and Tracks you want to play more easily. We've aimed to quickly address some of the inconveniences experienced by our Racers with this improved UI, and we will continue to improve the Matching Stage and track-related UI to make it easier and faster to get into a Race.

In addition, shortcut keys for lobby settings and other stage buttons have been updated, along with improvements such as ensuring that game sounds are not audible when KartRider: Drift is in the background.

Next, let’s discuss game balancing. First, I would like to address the Item Mode character balance patch. As mentioned in the previous Dev Blog, we plan to conduct balancing adjustments with buffs for many characters’ skills. However, nerfs and broader structural changes of some skills are unavoidable. As mentioned many times before, we are trying our best so that even the nerfed characters are still fun to play and maintain their charm. If those characters were your favorites, we sincerely apologize and ask for your understanding. Please check out the Patch Notes for the detailed list of changes, which will be posted before the update.

Speed Mode will also be partially rebalanced. The towing acceleration system, which previously increased the following Racer’s speed based on the distance from the lead, had an issue where if the distance became too large, controlling the increased speed would become too difficult, resulting in counterproductive effects for novice Racers. Therefore we will partially decrease the towing acceleration, and are planning to add a new towing charge system.

With the new towing charge system, the booster will automatically charge as the distance grows larger, and we believe this will assist newer Racers who typically struggle with charging their boosters. We've designed it so it does not become too big of an advantage and result in negative effects for higher-ranking Racers, but since it is our first time adding this system, we will continue to adjust its balance afterward as well.

Finally, we have a few Shop improvements. Since there are many Racers who would like us to sell products that aren’t available anymore, we're adding a "Personal Shop" category where you can purchase selected products from the past. In Personal Shop, you will only see the products you do not own yet and they can be purchased using K-Coin or Mileage. More details will be released in the upcoming Patch Notes.

We hope you’re excited about the main contents of next week’s update. Thank you for waiting for this update once again, and I sincerely apologize for the schedule not meeting your expectations. We're trying our best to prepare the upcoming Northeu update and the subsequent content, and we hope they meet your expectations.

-Director Jaewoo Seo and the KartRider: Drift Team-