Sega Is Bringing Back a Classic Arcade Driving Game Without Keeping It Stuck in the Past

Sega is dusting off its long-dormant Crazy Taxi series with Crazy Taxi: World Tour. The new game, set to release in 2027, is garnering interest because of a few changes made that might take the game to the next level. Pun intended. Crazy Taxi: World Tour is said to be open world, a major change for the series that has been ongoing since 1999. This is a concept Sega hasn’t yet tapped into with the Crazy Taxi series.

The new entry exemplifies what a true revival should be, taking an old IP and transforming it with new ideas meant to make the game more than what it was. From an arcade game to an at-home console title, Crazy Taxi has seen many changes over the years. It looks like Sega hopes to bring more momentum to its action-packed driving series with a new explorable world, bringing together both old and new fans.

Not a Remake But Something Much More Fulfilling

According to a press release via Sega, Crazy Taxi: World Tour is gearing up to be much more than a revival. Rather than just rebooting the original arcade driving classic and leaning on nostalgia alone to drive sales, developers are taking core ideas like fast arcade driving, picking up passengers, and chaotic city navigation, and expanding on them for a more in-depth experience. Axel is back for another high-octane adventure, chasing down a few masked baddies who stole his taxi.

Per usual, players can perform some crazy stunts, drifting and speeding down main stretches, catching air in between. In an effort to upgrade the original, Sega introduced an open world for exploring where players can drive across five different cities while picking up and dropping off passengers. The campaign is vast, spanning across the globe rather than fixed on one locale. This is a freedom the past games lacked, modernizing the arcade classic for gamers in the new age.

While taking in all the diverse terrain and cityscapes, players can chat with characters and complete wacky and weird missions that should keep them busy. If that isn’t enough to keep players busy, Sega also announced a Multiplayer Madness mode where they can test their driving skills against folks online.

First released as an arcade title in 1999, Crazy Taxi has quickly become a favorite driving game for thrill-seekers. The series was later ported to home consoles, which exposed more people to the fast-paced gameplay. It will be interesting to see how Sega manages to revive a title they haven’t touched in almost a decade. Adding an open-world element encourages exploration and adventure, which is something many new-gen players seek out in their gaming experiences. If players are looking to lean into the classic stylings of the OG games, there’s a mode for that too. As stated in the press release from Sega,

“The classic gameplay of Crazy Taxi is back and better than ever! Revisit the thrills of the original games in Arcade Mode, featuring a pulse-pounding race against the clock to earn the most cash possible.”

Arcade mode is that nostalgia portion personified, appeasing older fans, while still making an overall game that feels fresh and inspired. Taking a beloved franchise and blowing it up to a larger scale seems like the smartest way to appease both old and new fans. This strategy has worked well for titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Fallout 3, where studios expanded upon lore and previously discovered set pieces, making them even bigger for players to deep-dive into. Expansions like these offer a closer look at a world some folks have come to know like the back of their hands, feeding them even more info about a franchise they are passionate about.

Remakes Vs. Revivals—Why Does One Tend to Do Better Than the Other?

When re-upping precious IP, companies usually have to make the decision whether their new entry into the series is a remake or a revival. Within the past few years, Konami, Capcom, Visceral Games, and other major studios have set their sights on remakes, which often enhance the look and feel of games rather than making massive changes.

Historically, remakes tend to draw higher engagement than revivals because they bank on nostalgia, but also tend to focus on improving issues found in the original. Revivals bring back inactive franchises, which can leave fans weary since the revival likely calls for a new entry in a beloved series. It leads people to question the authenticity of a revival. Will the studio do the dormant franchise justice? What if they cut out a fan-favorite character? Revivals are open-ended, with a focus on creating an entirely new story with underlying threads of plot tying back to the original series.

Capcom’s work on Resident Evil is a prime example of remakes done right, with major successes being their Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes. Both games aimed at polishing the originals, making certain changes while paying homage to the OG games’ DNA. RE4, in particular, received a pretty big makeover, with full sections being removed, added stealth and parry mechanics, and a full-on overhaul of characters like Ashley Graham and Luis Serra. Visceral Games also hopped on the remake train in 2023 with Dead Space, introducing a fully interconnected ship layout, graphic upgrades, voice lines for leading man Issac Clarke, and expanded narrative side quests. Changes like these can be risky, but remakes like these have become a certified classic with fans.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour is a true revival. The franchise lay dormant for years, and Sega decided to brush it off and add a new entry. While we see a familiar face in Axel and even more familiar car mechanics, the open world concept adds depth to the game fans have grown to love. Since this is a revival, I am going in with an open mind, knowing that this will be something new entirely. Whether the expanded world will pay off, well, we will just have to see.

Released

2027

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

Full