| Atari Karts | |
|---|---|
 Cover art in all regions by Jen Smith | |
| Developer(s) | Miracle Designs |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Corporation |
| Producer(s) | Bill Rehbock Loïc Duval |
| Programmer(s) | Filip Hautekeete Peter Vermeulen |
| Composer(s) | Fabrice Gillet (uncredited) |
| Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Kart racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Atari Karts is a kart racing video game developed by Miracle Designs and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in North America on December 22, 1995, and Europe in January 1996. In the game, the players take control of one of several playable characters, each with differing capabilities. One or two players race against computer-controlled characters in four cups consisting of multiple tracks over four difficulty levels. During races, the players can obtain power-ups placed at predetermined points in the tracks and use them to gain an advantage. It plays similarly to Super Mario Kart and features Bentley Bear, main protagonist of the arcade game Crystal Castles (1983).
Atari Karts started production when Belgian programmers Filip Hautekeete and Peter Vermeulen received a development kit for the Jaguar from Atari, creating a demo featuring an emulated interpretation of the Mode 7 graphics mode seen in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Impressed with the demo, Atari decided to make a game that combined F-Zero and Super Mario Kart with a cutesy atmosphere, suggesting the usage of Bentley Bear and other Atari characters that did not make it into the final release.
Atari Karts garnered mixed reception from critics and retrospective commentarists, all of which compared it to Super Mario Kart. Miracle Designs began development on a sequel after release but never moved forward beyond the planning phase, however, Merlin Racing (2000) for Nuon is considered a spiritual successor to the game. In 2022, the game was included as part of the Atari 50 compilation.