Crazy Taxi World Tour Is Finally Back 24 Years Later

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Crazy Taxi: World Tour was revealed at today’s Xbox showcase, marking the first mainline Crazy Taxi sequel since Crazy Taxi 3 in 2002. That makes it a 24-year gap for the series, with launch currently set for 2027. Sega says the game is being led by Sapporo Studio, with original producer Kenji Kanno returning as supervising producer. It is built in Unreal Engine 5 and framed as an open-world online multiplayer driving game.

For longtime fans, this is more than a straightforward revival. After 24 years, it looks more like an attempt to recapture the series’ old arcade energy while adapting it to a more modern design model.

The early details are enough to set expectations. With Sapporo Studio leading development and Kenji Kanno back in a supervisory role, there is some reason to think the series won’t lose its identity. Unreal Engine 5 should also help on the visual side, especially for dense city environments and the kind of dense, high-speed city action the series depends on. If Sega can pull it off, the mix of weaving through traffic, blasting across city blocks, and chaining together rides could make a strong impression.

The bigger point isn’t nostalgia, or the Unreal Engine 5 branding. It’s the new pitch: open-world online multiplayer driving. That shift matters because it suggests Crazy Taxi: World Tour wants to preserve the old arcade rush while moving toward a modern live-service style experience. This clearly isn’t trying to be a purely old-school arcade game you play once and put down. The idea seems to be keeping players in the city, driving, competing, and finding new reasons to stay engaged over time.

That direction has obvious upside, but it also raises the stakes. On the plus side, open-world design and multiplayer could expand the taxi theme beyond simple timed passenger drop-offs into something closer to a busy shared urban playground. It’s easy to picture multiple players on one map competing for routes, chasing speed, and showing off drifts. That kind of play also has clear streaming appeal. But the pressure is just as obvious: once a game leans into live-service expectations, players will immediately focus on content updates, online performance, and the pace of post-launch support. If Sega gets that right, the game could stay active for a long time. If not, it could lose momentum quickly after release.

What matters now is whether Sega can balance the series’ old identity with this new framework. Veteran fans will want that immediate arcade thrill: get in, floor it, style through corners, and never feel dragged down by too many systems. Newer players are more likely to care about open-world freedom, the staying power of multiplayer content, and a package that feels fully modern. If Crazy Taxi: World Tour can satisfy both camps, it will be more than a comeback. It will have a real shot at stepping back into the mainstream.

For now, caution still makes sense. The trailer is currently listed as “under review,” so the amount of useful footage available is still limited. And with release not due until 2027, there’s clearly a long road to release. More gameplay details will likely come later. If you like racing games, arcade driving, and multiplayer interaction, this is absolutely worth putting on your watchlist. If you care more about stability and long-term service quality, waiting for proper gameplay footage and system details is still the safer call.