A new Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds trailer has unveiled some unexpected crossovers, including one with classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. All 52 users who have written Sonic/Eva fan fiction on the hosting website Archive Of Our Own must have taken a collective breath in.
The brand deal was revealed as part of a Sonic 35th-anniversary hype reel at Summer Game Fest 2026. The trailer showed other, perhaps more predictable, collaborations like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, upcoming fighting game Avatar Legends, and monster icon Godzilla.
Although Eva is no stranger to crossover merchandising, the dark and sometimes-nihilistic franchise might seem an odd pair with the kid-friendly Sonic, though one could argue that Shadow the Hedgehog and Shinji Ikari could swap stories about their messed-up dads. The trailer shows a Neon Genesis Evangelion themed course, featuring an Evangelion Unit-01 running alongside the racetrack, while Rei Ayanami and Asuka Soryu speed by in cars based on their own mechas.
Sonic racing games are no stranger to gonzo crossovers. The also-fantastic Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed featured General Winter from Company of Heroes, the Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and, perhaps most bizarrely, NASCAR racer Danica Patrick.