SEGA Revives Crazy Taxi With World Tour, Closed Network Test Goes Live September 11

SEGA put the Crazy Taxi question to bed at gamescom 2026 and the answer is loud, fast, and very 2027. Crazy Taxi: World Tour is actually happening, it is multi-platform, and it is built to chase that 1999 arcade high without pretending mobile experiments, pachinko machines, or crypto detours ever happened. The reveal trailer drops Axel into a global tour of new cities with the same broke-knuckle, no-rules driving the original coin-op was built on. SEGA confirmed the launch window for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2, with a Closed Network Test scheduled for September 11 through 13 and applications open until August 31. Sign-ups are live on the official Crazy Taxi site.

What SEGA actually showed at gamescom

Hands-on coverage from Hobby Consolas, ntower, TheGamer, and a stack of Brazilian outlets lined up at the SEGA booth and the consensus is that the bones are right. Axel is back, the passenger requests are as unhinged as ever, and the driving is the closest a modern game has come to the Dreamcast original without becoming a remaster. The German preview from ntower calls out tight arcade handling and stage variety, while Hobby Consolas noted the punk rock spirit is intact even if the open-world pacing has not been fully solved yet. That is honest reporting, not a puff piece. The build on the gamescom floor leaned on shortcuts across sidewalks and medians, jump ramps that shove the taxi into the air, and enough pick-up-and-deliver mayhem to justify calling it a tour instead of a remaster.

Multiplayer is the headline feature

The biggest addition is competitive online multiplayer, the first time in the franchise's history. The Closed Network Test goes live September 11 at 9 AM PT and runs through September 13, with two maps, six cars, and four playable characters. SEGA confirmed up to six players per session, with cross-play across all four launch platforms. The CNT is gated behind a free sign-up that closes August 31, so if you want in, register before the deadline on the official Crazy Taxi site. SEGA is also planning single-player campaign content with classic Crazy Box-style challenges, and the Steam page confirms the game ships with Brazilian Portuguese interface, subtitles, and full voice dubbing, a quiet win for a Brazilian launch audience that has carried this franchise since the arcade days. The Switch 2 build is in the same launch wave, which is the right call given how badly Switch Online has needed a real arcade racer.

Denuvo is the only misstep on the Steam page

Two things worth flagging in the Steam listing. First, the page lists Denuvo Anti-Tampering as a third-party DRM layer, which is going to annoy the people who still care about that fight. SEGA has not commented on whether the protection will ship at launch or get cracked off later, but it is on the store page now and that is what players will read. Second, the language list confirms 16 supported languages at launch with Brazilian Portuguese marked for interface, subtitles, and full dub, alongside English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and more. There is no pricing yet, which is the smart move, hold pricing until the CNT finishes and you can use real player reaction to set expectations. Steam wishlists opened the moment the gamescom page went live, so the audience is already there.

Community reaction: hype with a side of skepticism

Xbox's official reveal post pulled 3 million likes and close to 4 million views inside 48 hours, which is the loudest signal the brand has given a third-party revival in years. TheGamer ran a preview titled 'Crazy Taxi: World Tour Might Have The Sauce' and the comment section under most outlets is split between people who already have the CNT on their calendar and people who still remember how badly SEGA handled the franchise after 2003. That skepticism is fair, the franchise has been dormant long enough that some fans were not even sure SEGA remembered it existed. The official Crazy Taxi Discord emotes shipped last week, which is the kind of community groundwork SEGA usually skips. The closed test going through dedicated sign-up, with a real public date, is also a much better playbook than the silent-cancel route SEGA has taken with other dormant IPs. If the launch build delivers on the gamescom demo, this becomes the easiest 2027 pickup for anyone who misses arcade-era driving.

CriticalPixel take

Crazy Taxi: World Tour is the right bet. The franchise has been crying out for a real revival since the Dreamcast died, and SEGA chose the only path that actually works: full price, full launch, real multiplayer, real platforms, and a public test before you commit. The Denuvo question is the only thing that gives us pause, but for a 2027 launch with a Brazilian Portuguese dub and four-platform cross-play on day one, this is the kind of legacy IP revival we want to see more of. Mark September 11 on the calendar, sign up before August 31, and pray the CNT servers do not melt under the demand. If SEGA holds the line, Crazy Taxi might just be the comeback story of 2027.