is a 2025 kart racing game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. A spinoff in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, it incorporates characters and features from previous Sonic racing games. The game's main new feature is the "CrossWorld" mechanic, which causes racers to travel to other tracks in the middle of a race. Several guest characters from other franchises appear via downloadable content.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was developed by Sonic Team, with members of the Initial D arcade games' development team contributing. The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 25, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 version followed on December 4, 2025. CrossWorlds received positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and customization features, though its single-player content and downloadable characters' presentation were criticized.
Gameplay
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a kart racing game, similar to its predecessor, Team Sonic Racing (2019), although CrossWorlds does not retain that game's cooperative team racing mechanic in normal gameplay. Players race against up to 11 opponents in three-lap races around a track, similar to other games in the genre such as the Mario Kart series. Like previous Sonic racing games, a strong emphasis is placed on drifting to maneuver around tight turns and build up additional speed. Players can also earn speed boosts by performing consecutive mid-air tricks after jumping off ramps. Rings are scattered around the track, which players can gather to increase their maximum speed; players lose rings when they make contact with walls, obstacles, or other racers. Item capsules can also be obtained, which can be used to increase the player's speed or attack other opponents.
Players can choose between standard race cars, which transform to boats and planes at different points in the race similar to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012), or Extreme Gear hoverboards, which were previously featured in the Sonic Riders sub-series. Unlike previous Sonic racing games, characters are not restricted to a single vehicle and have their own stats, which affect the performance of vehicles. Cars fall into one of four different classes based on their most prominent stat: Speed, Acceleration, Power, or Handling. A fifth type, Boost, is utilized exclusively by Extreme Gear. A total of 45 different vehicles can be unlocked, with players also able to combine parts from the vehicles they have unlocked to create custom vehicles. By competing in races and completing special challenge objectives, players can earn "Donpa Tickets", which can be used to purchase additional vehicle parts and customization items like paint and decals. Tickets can also be spent to retry a race during a Grand Prix, or gifted to characters to increase their friendship rating and earn rewards. Before starting a race, players can choose from over 70 unlockable gadgets to equip that provide them passive advantages, such as drawing in distant rings, increasing trick speeds, or prioritizing specific items; up to six gadget slots can be unlocked, with some gadgets requiring multiple slots to be equipped.
The game features 24 different race tracks, divided into eight Grands Prix. Many of the tracks are based on locations from previous Sonic games, such as Metal Harbor from Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) and Kronos Island from Sonic Frontiers (2022). After the first lap of each race, the leading racer chooses between two different "Travel Rings", large ring-shaped portals that appear in the middle of the track; the racers then enter the selected Travel Ring and emerge in the corresponding "CrossWorld", one of 15 separate locations in which the second lap of the race takes place before reverting to the original track for the final lap. While in the CrossWorld, random "frenzy" modifiers may be activated, causing additional effects such as adding moving boost gates to the course. Elements of the track layout also change during the final lap, adding new hazards or opening new paths and shortcuts. Additional tracks and vehicles are available as downloadable content (DLC).
Players can choose between four different speed options, which also act as the race's difficulty setting. In Grand Prix mode, the player must complete four sequential races, consisting of three standard races and a final race that features one lap each from the preceding tracks, while attempting to earn the highest placement score possible. During a Grand Prix, one opponent is designated as the player's "rival", who exhibits higher difficulty behavior and specifically targets the player during each race. Rival characters also have special interactions with the player character, and defeating a rival in Grand Prix grants additional rewards. A time trial mode allows players to play three laps on each track and record their best times. Earning medals in time trials unlocks additional music tracks from other Sonic games in the "jukebox" menu; these tracks can then be set as the individual background music for each lap of a race. A third mode, Race Park, features team mechanics similar to those in Team Sonic Racing. In the mode, teams of players earn points by completing specific challenges, such as collecting the most rings or hitting the most opponents with items. Defeating computer-controlled rival teams in Race Park unlocks additional rewards. The game supports local multiplayer, as well as cross-platform online multiplayer for up to 12 players. Themed "festival" events are held infrequently, allowing players to compete online in Race Park style challenges to earn points for additional rewards.
Characters CrossWorlds features the largest roster of playable characters in a Sonic racing game to date. The game launched with 24 playable characters, one of which is unlockable. Additional characters from Sonic and other Sega properties have been added via free monthly updates, with 13 total being added in the first year following the game's release. A premium season pass adds 15 characters from other external properties, spread across six waves of downloadable content. A second year of content, including both paid and free characters, is currently in development. Three characters originating from the animated series Sonic Prime are also included with the first season pass, while Sonic the Werehog from Sonic Unleashed was available as a pre-order incentive. , the game features 54 playable characters.
Guest characters are labeled in bold.
Base roster
Free downloadable content
Paid downloadable content
Development Sonic Team began developing Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds in 2022, with the developers behind the Initial D series of arcade racing games contributing to the project. Sonic Team chose to incorporate both transforming vehicles and Extreme Gear as a way of appealing to fans of previous Sonic racing games, treating CrossWorlds as a culmination of all the games to date. The Travel Ring concept was inspired by the use of rings as portals in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, as well as producer Ryuichi Taki's childhood memories of driving through long tunnels and emerging in very different environments. The team's experience with developing arcade racing games inspired them to make each lap of the race unique to maintain excitement and interest. Taki noted that the Extreme Gear was difficult to implement, as it necessitated creating an entirely new gameplay system to make it work. The team worked to refine the core racing gameplay and course design before adding any items to the game, removing those which they felt made the game too unbalanced. Creative director Masaru Kobayakawa drew on his experience developing arcade card games when balancing gadget combinations, feeling that a certain "sharpness" was needed to create opportunities for a more interesting metagame.
Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka stated that while CrossWorlds was designed as a Sonic racing game first and foremost, fan disappointment at the lack of crossover content in Team Sonic Racing compared to previous entries led them to include more guest characters as DLC. Iizuka also stated that since the Sonic franchise has traditionally seen the most success in western markets, the team instead chose guest characters for downloadable content that would draw interest from Japanese players. The downloadable characters do not have voice acting, due to the lengthy approval process required when dealing with external licensors.
Music Takahiro Kai acted as sound director and lead composer for CrossWorlds and composed the game's main theme, "Sonic Racing - Cross the Worlds", which features lyrics and vocals by James Bourne of Busted. The song "Get Higher" by Creepy Nuts appears in the game's credits. Other contributors to the soundtrack include Sega composers Tomoya Ohtani, Tae Fujimoto, Jun Senoue, Kanon Oguni, Iona Takashima, Satoshi Okamura, Hidekuni Horita, and Makoto Tokuyama, as well as guest musicians Riot, Giga, Tee Lopes, Zardonic, Camellia, , Nanobii, Aiobahn, and . A set of five songs by Vocaloid musicians Kairiki Bear, cosMo@Bousou-P, Yunosuke, Ponchi♪, and Camellia are also featured in the game, with accompanying art and music videos released as part of a "Project Onsoku" collaboration between Sonic and Hatsune Miku. Additional music tracks, including songs by and Inugami Korone, have been added via free updates and paid downloadable content.
Release Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was initially announced with a teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2024. The first gameplay trailer was shown during Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play on February 12, 2025, and a closed beta test for the PlayStation 5 version was held from February 21 to 23. This was followed by an open beta test for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows between August 29 and September 1. A single-player demo was released on September 17.
In June 2025, leaked concept art and footage from an early build of the game revealed the existence of multiple guest characters from non-Sega franchises planned as downloadable content. The inclusion of guests was subsequently confirmed at Summer Game Fest a few days later on June 6, along with the game's final release date of September 25, 2025. Iizuka expressed disappointment in the leaks, feeling it had ruined the excitement and surprise for fans. A Nintendo Switch 2 version was also announced, and was released digitally on December 4, 2025, with a paid upgrade available for owners of the Nintendo Switch version that will carry over their progress. A physical Nintendo Switch 2 release followed on March 26, 2026.
In addition to the standard edition of the game, a Digital Deluxe Edition provided three days of early access on all non-Nintendo platforms. The Digital Deluxe Edition also includes the downloadable content season pass, the contents of which are being released in six waves over the course of the year following the game's launch. Each wave of the pass adds multiple characters, a race track, a vehicle, emotes, and music based on a different franchise, including Minecraft, SpongeBob SquarePants, Pac-Man, Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Avatar Legends. Separate to the individual waves, the season pass also includes three characters from Sonic Prime. Sega Account holders could redeem a code for the "Blue Star" Extreme Gear in-game, which was later released as general DLC. Limited Run Games produced a Collector's Edition of the game packaged with additional physical rewards, which was only available to order during June 2025. A second year of DLC was announced at Summer Game Fest 2026, and will once again feature six content packs, including content based on Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
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