After 20 years since the last full entry in the series, Sega is bringing Crazy Taxi back with a new game called Crazy Taxi: World Tour. Producer Kenji Kanno, who has been with Sega for a long time, revealed the game at a behind-closed-doors presentation at Summer Game Fest. According to VGC, he had a clear reason why now is the right moment to revive it.

“A lot of what’s in the news nowadays makes you feel not very excited to live in the world,” Kanno told assembled media at the event. “So, I feel personally that I want to have this new Crazy Taxi out there to maybe help people smile and have fun.” He added that part of Sega’s broader push is to bring back its classic IPs, but for him personally, Crazy Taxi has always been a game built entirely around positive feelings, which makes it a good fit for where the world is right now.

World Tour keeps the spirit of the original intact. Players still take on the role of Axel, picking up passengers and racing through the streets to get them to their destinations as fast as possible. The familiar San Francisco-inspired map returns, though it has been significantly updated. Offspring and Bad Religion are back on the soundtrack, and Kanno hinted that more artists are involved that he is not yet allowed to name.

The “World Tour” title is not just for show. Kanno explained that the new game will let players travel to different countries and locations around the world, not just one city that grows over time. Each location will have its own map filled with standard taxi missions, special activities, and mini-games. One example shown had players carrying a chef balancing a towering stack of pizza boxes across the map, while another had players speeding down a pier to cast a fishing line, then reversing to reel in a catch that turned out to be a massive shark. Kanno described the cities as feeling lived-in and lively, which he says sets World Tour apart from other driving or racing games.

Beyond the main gameplay, players can unlock special skills such as drifts and boosts, and there is now a story layer with Axel chatting and interacting with the passengers he picks up. Kanno also pulled up a world map during the presentation to show that the game extends well beyond what was on display, switching between different times of day and jumping into a race mission against an opponent in a sports car.

The primary focus of World Tour is a single-player experience with a main story, but multiplayer has also been added. Kanno pointed out that players have been asking for a way to enjoy Crazy Taxi with friends since 1999, and with the technology and the right team now available, that is finally possible. He was clear that single-player comes first, with multiplayer positioned as an option for those who want more to do after the main content.

One point of controversy did emerge shortly after the SGF reveal when a Steam page disclosed that generative AI was used during development. Kanno later clarified that everything in World Tour will be original content and that AI was only briefly used as a brainstorming tool during early development. The interview at Summer Game Fest took place before that disclosure came to light.

Those who attended the presentation left feeling positive about what they saw. While a full release date and the complete list of world locations have not been announced yet, what was shown pointed to a game that respects its roots while making room for something bigger. For a series that has been absent for two decades, World Tour appears to be a genuine effort to bring Crazy Taxi back the right way.