After a long hibernation and being trapped on mobile systems, the iconic arcade hit series Crazy Taxi is finally back. As shown by the trailer from the Xbox Games Showcase, Crazy Taxi: World Tour is the newest entry in the franchise and is making its way to modern platforms in the near future.
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Crazy Taxi: World Tour Is the First Console Entry in Decades
Crazy Taxi: World Tour will be launching on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC sometime in 2027. No more concrete details were shared.
The above trailer, set to The Offspring’s “All I Want,” is a mix of chaotic driving through San Francisco streets that contains snippets of gameplay as well as cutscenes. However, a character near the end of the trailer gives the protagonist a ticket out of the Bay Area and into international territory, hence the subtitle.
The game’s Steam page has more details, noting how players control Axel, one of the original protagonists, in his journey to get after those who stole his taxi. There will be five different cities in the game, too, and all feature ways to “perform outrageous drifts, catch insane air, and drive at crazy speeds.”
Sega claims it will feature a “compelling story-driven campaign” with oddball characters and a variety of different missions to undertake. Money earned from missions can be spent on customization options for the player’s taxi. It seems that this story mode is different from the Arcade Mode that has players driving against the clock to earn money. There are also online multiplayer modes, but Sega didn’t offer many details outside of heavily implying it will support cross-platform play.
It has been an open secret Crazy Taxi would be coming back in some form. Aside from some recent teases, Sega has spoken openly about the revival and even showed a glimpse of it at The Game Awards in 2023. Reputable rumors have also been floating around it for years, as well. While some rumblings have been more or less corroborated, the jury is still out on others.
Crazy Taxi has been on quite a ride. After its successful debut in 1999, it spawned two console sequels in the following years. However, entries after 2002’s Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller were trapped on handheld or, more recently, mobile systems. They eventually got further away from the series’ arcadey driving roots, as evidenced by 2014’s Temple Run-esque Crazy Taxi: City Rush and 2017s ill-fated management sim Crazy Taxi Tycoon. This makes World Tour the first new driving-focused installment to come out on consoles since 2002.
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