WELCOME TO S26
OUT ON 14 DECEMBER 2025
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
SK26 is the biggest shift Street Kart’s had in years. We’ve taken a hard look at what you love, what’s been driving you mad, and what simply wasn’t pulling its weight any more – then rebuilt a lot of the core systems around proper racing, fair rewards, and less grind.
What’s changing, why we’re doing it, and what it means when you jump back in.
1. Fitness Bar Is Gone – Race As Much As You Like
The Fitness Bar has been retired.
No more energy running out.
No more “I’d race but my bar’s dead”.
You can now race as much as you like without worrying about fitness draining away.
What’s still there:
Weight still matters. You’ll still gain/lose weight based on how you play.
Race Pass members are always at optimum weight – that benefit remains.
Energy drinks linked to fitness are also gone. It’s cleaner, simpler, and much more “jump in and race”.
2. X-Tier Daily Challenges – Little Races, Big Stakes
We’ve rebuilt daily events around X-Tier.
X-Tier Daily Challenges
2–3 daily challenges, all-player, every day.
Short 2–3 lap races, easy to jump into.
Often everyone is in the same kart, so it’s about driving, not garage size.
You’ll be racing for Aces and SKD, with fastest times deciding where you finish.
These are designed to be your “daily go-to”: quick, competitive, and always worth doing.
3. X-Tier SKD Pro Challenges – Proper Setup, Proper Rewards
If you enjoy tinkering with setups, this is your playground.
Full setup events – you’ll often need to tune carbs, seat and radiator.
Usually 5 laps, so consistency and tyre choice matter.
You can earn up to around 700 SKD per day from a single Pro event if you do well.
These events are about rewarding players who want to go a bit deeper – and about making SKD come from racing, not just grinding championships.
4. X-Tier Target Time Reward Packs & The New MG Tyre
Every player now gets an individual target time based on their ability.
Hit it and you’ll unlock a daily reward pack, which will often include a new special tyre:
The X-Tier MG Tyre
Can be used in any X-Tier Daily event.
Around 0.1–0.15 sec per lap quicker than the SS tyre.
Roughly 50% more durable.
You cannot buy this tyre in Race Prep.
This is important:
SuperSoft racers can still absolutely win on skill.
But if you’re stuck or you want to push for that last couple of tenths, the X-Tier tyre gives you that extra edge over a full run – if you’re hitting your lines.
Skill first, smart use of rewards second.
5. Solo Practice – Pure Learning, Zero Cost
Solo Practice is now:
Reward-free
Cost-free
No kart wear
No tyre wear
Do as many runs as you like, learn tracks, test lines, try setups – without worrying about your balance or your kart bill.
If you want to improve, this is now the safest place to live.
6. Grip & Classic Karts – Back To Racing, Not Glue
We’ve rolled back kart grip across the board:
All karts are now on Epoch 3 grip levels.
Most L1–L2 karts have been turned into classics.
The goal:
More realistic, more demanding driving – and less of that “on rails” feel.
7. Classic Karts & MANU Opens – Old Karts, New Life
Those classic karts are not there just to gather dust.
Classic karts can now be used in some daily events and MANU Opens.
MANU Opens work as a chain:
Start in TKM → unlock a kart.
Use that to enter the X30 MANU Open → unlock the next kart.
And so on.
There are three MANU Opens every week, starting with TKM. It’s a proper little ladder that gives older karts (and your garage) more meaning.
8. Multiplayer Is Back – With Discord Support
Multiplayer returns in a much bigger way:
All daily challenges are now multiplayer and open to everyone.
You can use Discord to:
Organise races vs friends
Chat whilst you race
Use voice chat (not fully integrated yet, but it’s there if you want it)
This should make SK feel like a live racing community again, not just a time-trial simulator.
9. Wall of Fame – True Legends Only
We’re formalising long-term prestige with the Wall of Fame.
Top 10–50 racers (depending on the event) can earn a place.
It’s for:
World records
Multiple titles
Championship dominance
So far only two SK World Champions exist:
Laurens Beerten and Chris Mcloughlin.
World Finals will, as always, be held in January – the ultimate SK title. From now on:
PRJ Championship wins (weekly)
X30 Championship wins
…will also count towards the Wall of Fame. Championships now really matter.
10–12. Graphics, Sound & Physics – The Feel Of SK26
Graphics & UI
We’ve updated the UX and UI in pretty much every area of the game.
Menus, flows, and screens are cleaner and (hopefully) easier to use.
In-race UI is still to be done – that’s planned for 2026.
We are still seeing bugs in testing; this is a big change and there will be rough edges.
Kart Sound
We’ve made improvements to engine and kart audio.
This will continue to be refined post-launch.
Physics
Kart physics have been updated and improved for SK26.
This is something we’ll keep working on – especially as more of you get your hands on it and give feedback.
13. Music & Soundtrack – SK On Spotify
SK26 comes with a brand new original score:
Available on Spotify – for driving in-game or in real life.
Listening helps push SK into more Spotify playlists, which in turn helps the game.
There will also be an SK Soundtrack featuring:
Bands
Tracks from yours truly
Again, you’ll be able to listen on Spotify as tracks are released, with more music coming over the next 12 months.
14–16. Championships 2.0 – Aces, Points & Less Grinding
Championships have been rebuilt so they feel more important, but less of a chore.
Fewer Events, More Runs Per Event
Championships now have fewer events per week.
The expectation is you’ll do several runs per event, not just dip in once.
Championship Rewards – Now Aces-Led
Championship positions now reward Aces, not big SKD.
Roughly:
PRJ: ~500–600 Aces per week
X30: about half that
TKM: about half X30
The exact amount depends on how many people race.
Key rule:
You must finish in the top 80% of the championship to earn Aces.
Top 80%: get Aces.
Bottom 20%: get nothing.
It’s harsh, but fair. If you’re in the bottom 20%, you either didn’t do the runs, or the pace just wasn’t there this time.
Rewards are skewed towards the top, but every position matters because of…
Points Per Run – Capped, Declining, And Daily
Across all tiers:
Your first 10 races per day in the championship award championship points.
Points decline as you go:
e.g. 3 points for a heat win for the first few races
Then 2, then 1, then eventually 0 after the cap.
After 10 daily championship races, you get no more points for wins that day.
This does three things:
Limits pure grinding.
Rewards players who show up, try to improve, and engage daily.
Keeps things competitive in PRJ especially, where the points are smaller by design.
17. Target Rivals Are Back (PRJ)
In PRJ, Target Rivals are back.
Beat your rival, earn daily Aces and reward packs.
This sits alongside the new championship rewards and X-Tier systems.
It’s another way to make each day’s racing feel meaningful.
18. Race Pass: Better Daily Aces & A Price Lock For Existing Players
Race Pass has been reworked so it feels more straightforward and more generous for most players.
What’s New
There are now daily events exclusively for Race Pass players with up to 50 Aces on offer based on your position.
This replaces the old multiplier on daily Aces Race Meets.
In practice:
You’re now guaranteed a baseline of Aces just for entering.
You can earn a lot more if you’re quick.
On top of that:
There’s a 3× multiplier on Target Rival Aces – even for PRJ.
Optimum weight remains a Race Pass benefit.
Race Pass members will continue to get:
Special events
Signature karts
And the ability to jump tiers (still Race Pass only).
The net result:
For most Race Pass players – especially those mid-to-lower in the tiers – you’ll earn more Aces than before.
Price Lock For Existing Subscribers
If you’re already subscribed at $4.99/month, you’ll keep that price forever as long as you stay subscribed.
New subscribers in the new year will pay $5.99/month.
The extra revenue from that increase will go into a Race Pass esports prize fund for 2026.
19–20. Early Game, Onboarding & Simplification
We’ve also spent a lot of time on:
Onboarding and Cadets – to try and keep more new players in the game past those first few races.
General simplification – keeping the core mechanics you love, whilst removing or tidying systems that made things more confusing than fun.
The aim is to make SK:
Easier to understand
Still deep for those chasing Prodigy Week and esports
Less dull and grindy
21. SKD – Earned From Racing, Not Just Progress
The SKD economy has shifted.
The bulk of SKD is now earned from daily events and racing.
Do not expect big SKD payouts from championships or basic progression.
Championships are now about glory, kart unlocks, moving tiers, and Aces.
What we’ve done instead:
Increased SKD rewards per race.
Reduced servicing penalties for Solo Practice.
So the more you race – especially if you practise – the more your SKD balance should go up.
22. PRJ Seasons – 12 Distinct Seasons, 12 Different Flavours
PRJ now runs with 12 seasons, each with its own theme:
Short runs
Single brand seasons
Fixed weather
Enduro runs
Different pay-offs
X30 also has 12 championship seasons, with a mix of live and fixed weather. Most of the real variety sits in PRJ, as that’s where the top-end players live.
This Is A Massive Update – Expect Bugs
This is a huge change to Street Kart. That means:
There will be bugs.
There will be balance issues.
AI and some systems will need tweaking based on how you actually play.
SK26 should:
Feel like a major update.
Be a step forward for the game.
Make it fun to go racing again – and a lot less dull.
We’re aiming for one major update per year (like SK26, SK27, etc.) with smaller updates in between, rather than constant tiny patches.
Championships are now a core focus again, with Aces rewards largely pushed into weekly championships instead of endless special events.
Thank You
A huge thank you to our testing group – especially Themoth, Andme, and Ja Coop – and many others who’ve spent hours hunting down issues. You’ve been brilliant.
And a very special thank you to Pete Williams:
Months of unpaid work.
Helping with physics testing and event times.
We simply couldn’t have achieved this level of rework without him.
We’ve put a ridiculous amount of time into SK26, and we’ve loved building it for you.
Please do enjoy it.
See you on track.
— Ross, Duncan & the team
