Sonic Fans Actually Have Some Pretty Reasonable Requests After “Amazing Surprises” Teased For CrossWorlds
Josh has been playing video games for longer than he can remember, kicking things off with a Master System before upgrading to a Mega Drive. Covering the industry since 2018, if a game has a strong story – or even better, the decisions you make determine the course of that story – odds are he’s going to like it. Or, you know, put Sonic or Pikachu on the cover and that’ll get his attention too.
It might not have beaten its Nintendo rival in every metric, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has proved there’s room for another marquee, mascot-led kart racing game alongside Mario Kart. Some people even prefer Sonic’s new racing game over Mario Kart World, and it’s only going to keep getting better in 2026.
That’s according to CrossWorlds’ director, Kobayakawa. When asked about the future of the game by Famitsu, Kobayakawa revealed that there are more “amazing surprises” to come in 2026 that weren’t revealed at launch. We already know that characters from Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Avatar will join the CrossWorlds roster, but this presumably means we might get even more crossovers with non-Sega franchises.
That’s Avatar the animated show, not the one with the blue people. Temper your expectations accordingly.
Get Your Requests In For The Future Of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
There’s even been talk of doing more than what Sega has planned for CrossWorlds if it’s successful enough, which potentially means almost anything is possible when it comes to the game’s future. You’d think the promise of big surprises would have prompted Sonic fans to make wild, unrealistic requests, but as far as I can tell, most of our wants are actually pretty reasonable.
Rather than setting the bar high and imagining a CrossWorlds that includes Bluey and the Batmobile, fans are asking for Sega-owned additions and improvements to the game we already have. One of the most requested features in the wake of Kobayakawa’s tease is more courses based on levels from older Sonic games and other Sega-owned series.
I’ve seen quite a few requests for courses designed to look like you’re racing through 3D versions of levels from the original 2D Sonic games, for example. I know I’m letting my millennial Sonic fandom show through, but a grand prix where you race around levels from Sonic 2, complete with remixed themes from those levels, would hit different.
Look me in the eye and tell me the Chemical Plant Zone theme isn’t the greatest song ever created for a video game, and I’ll know I’m speaking to a liar.
Put Joe Musashi In Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Cutting slightly deeper, but sticking with things Sega could probably do with relative ease, I’ve seen some asking for Ristar to be revived and added to the CrossWorlds roster. Ristar has been used incredibly sparingly since his platforming debut in 1995, so a return via CrossWorlds is unlikely, but not impossible. Hey, Kobayakawa called them surprises, right?
If Sega is taking reasonable requests, then I’m going to go ahead and throw Joe Musashi’s hat into the ring. Added bonus: the Shinobi star doesn’t speak, so the complaint about DLC characters having no dialogue won’t be an issue. If there’s a Crazy Taxi kart in CrossWorlds by the end of 2026 with Mushashi in the driver’s seat, then, much like Dispatch, I think the latest Sonic game should be eligible for Game of the Year consideration in consecutive years.
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