Crazy Taxi: World Tour is Sega’s revival of the beloved arcade driving classic, and a recent hands-on preview offered an early look at how the game modernizes the original while preserving its frantic charm. The remake is scheduled to launch in 2027 for modern consoles.
The original Crazy Taxi stood out as a defining example of the Sega Dreamcast era, a period known for bold, original titles like Space Channel 5, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio and Power Stone. World Tour aims to recapture that kinetic energy for today’s audiences, joining a wave of remasters and revivals reaching modern platforms.
What Stays True to the Original
Sega has retained the core elements that made the game memorable. Players still drive up to a colorful circle marking a passenger in need of a fast ride, then hit the accelerator to reach the destination before the timer expires, weaving haplessly through traffic and pedestrians along the way.
The vibrant visual style returns, as does the signature fare-pickup system. The soundtrack also makes a comeback, featuring the late-’90s and early-2000s alt rock and pop punk that defined the original release. New additions include modern tweaks such as boost and drift mechanics that fit the classic style.
New Modes and Mini-Quests
Unlike the original, which focused solely on picking up fares until time ran out, World Tour offers several modes. The preview featured a free-form sandbox that let players explore at their own pace. The available map covered Germany, one of many international locations planned for the final game, and was built as a large loop divided into smaller zones including an airport, a downtown, a small village and a hilltop castle.
The standout feature was a set of specialized fares, each tied to its own mini-quest. About 10 were scattered across the map, and every one leaned into absurdity. One passenger was a man in an Easter Bunny costume asking for help collecting his eggs, while another was a daredevil in a wingsuit who wanted to be launched off a cliff from the cab’s backseat. Dialogue hinted that these eccentric characters would reappear across other maps with equally strange requests.
These offbeat encounters capture the tone that defined the Dreamcast era, blending exaggerated scenarios with quirky characters. The preview session lasted about an hour, offering a limited but telling glimpse of the direction Sega is taking with the revival.
Crazy Taxi: World Tour is set to release in 2027 on modern consoles.
