Nintendo is launching a new Dr. Mario game for Andriod and iOS later this year

Nintendo has announced a new entry its mobile game lineup slated for early summer of 2019: Dr. Mario World. The app will be a free-to-download puzzle game, co-developed and jointly operated with Japanese messaging app LINE and developer NHN Entertainment. 


There isn’t much information about the game yet, except that it will be available for both iOS and Android and, while free, will contain in-app purchases. It’s set to be released in 60 countries around the world. 

Nintendo first made its foray into mobile entertainment in 2016 with SuperMario Run, a unique take on the classic platformer that infused elements of the endless runner genre. Since then, there have been some hits and some misses as the company has tried bucking traditional mobile game trends in some cases and fallen back the tried-and-true methods of Asian game development in others. 

Although there are scant details, it seems that Dr. Mario World falls under the “what works” formula for mobile games: free-to-play and supported by in-app purchases. It’s also got the added benefit of being a puzzle game, which tend to be easier to play mobile than something like Fire Emblem Heroes or Dragalia Lost, Nintendo’s two more complicated mobile titles in the RPG genre.
 

Earlier yesterday, Nintendo said it was delaying the release of another forthcoming smartphone game Mario Kart Tour until later this year, “in order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch.” That said, it sounds like Nintendo fans will have plenty play on mobile come this summer.