If you’re a fan of iconic open-source racing game SuperTuxKart, you will have noticed that effort on the upcoming 1.5 release has stalled, having hit beta in late 2024 and release candidate status in spring 2025 but with no real progress since.
Now, in an update shared by STK developers, we know why: inter-team disagreement.
Any group-based effort — though felt more keenly in open-source projects as internal structures for mitigating disagreements are less formal — clashes in priorities, plans, and personalities are not uncommon, and can put the brakes on progress.
If one person in a project has more control over critical projects resources – domain names, servers, developer accounts – they hold more sway if they want things done their way.
Which, sadly, is what happened.
Per the blog post, the SuperTuxKart 1.5 release has been “ready since April but delayed endlessly over [a] desire to add more Vulkan updates, despite the game using OpenGL by default”, while “upgrading the underpowered online server” was also, in effect, vetoed.
This has caused a split. The bulk of the STK team have spun off into a new project. With new leaders in the driving seat, the team is pushing forward with the SuperTuxKart Evolution project.
Organisationally, the team wants to ensure “that at least 2, and preferably 3, trusted persons” share access to each critical resources (website domain, online play server, code hosting, forum, YouTube channel, etc) to ensure that no single person can act as roadblock.
Along with getting SuperTuxKart 1.5 across the (release) finish line, the team says it plans “a new major game version bringing a fresh experience with heaps of new content and plenty of improvements”.
It seems the unexpected pitstop has given the team a bit of a motivational tune-up that could result in a faster development going forward.
“The STK team has a vision for this next great step in SuperTuxKart’s journey, and we are committed to bring it to life, honoring the legacy of those whose work allowed SuperTuxKart to become an icon of open-source and Linux gaming,” they say.
A new website with FAQ detailing the aims of this new effort is live, and a roadmap tracking plans, goals, and development progress will be revealed in due course. The project has a (rather slick) new logo too — which you can see in the hero header.
There are some ongoing issues. The main project website is not (currently) under the team’s control, they lack the required access to update and manage the SuperTuxKart Android app on the Google Play store, and a new forum needs to be set up.
With team disagreements now, hopefully, in the rearview, SuperTuxKart’s new leadership have their eyes firmly forward, focused on the future.