Skip to main content
GamesRadar+
GamesRadar+
GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Search GamesRadar+
View Profile
Xbox Series X
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch 2
Tabletop Gaming
Toys & Collectibles
Retro Gamer
Newsletters
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
Subscribe from just £3
Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
Try a single issue or save on a subscription
Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From£9.99View
Summer Game Fest
New games for 2025
Upcoming Switch 2 games
Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Sonic the Hedgehog
Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too “stressful” or let players “win all the time”
Racing Games
“It looks like Nintendo did a good job” – Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says Mario Kart World looks more like an action game, whereas Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds “really” focuses on racing and competitive play
Racing Games
I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer
Racing Games
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is getting Minecraft characters and Hatsune Miku to make sure people are “not just playing it when it comes out, having fun, and that being it”
Super Mario
Mario Kart World fans slam Nintendo for making 3-lap tracks even rarer: “Now I have an excuse not to buy the Switch 2”
Racing Games
Nintendo has made my biggest problem with Mario Kart World even worse
Nintendo Switch 2
“We can’t fully imagine all the types of ways that people will play”: Like Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart World is going to thrive on player imagination
Platforming Games
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds mirrors Mario Kart World’s move away from traditional 3-lap races with tracks that put you in a whole “different universe”
29 June 2025
But how popular will it be?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Sega)
Mario Kart World is courting controversy with a new update that makes it even harder to play traditional three-lap races, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has been planning to make a very similar change since the beginning.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, veteran Sonic producer Takashi Iizuka said that early in the development process on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega was trying to come up with a fresh new idea for the new iteration. In that brainstorming session, he says, “we had this idea that we’ve had this three-lap course up until now – it’s always once, twice, three times around. What if that’s the thing that we change?”
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds focus is on competitive play | Developer Interview – YouTube
That idea brought the CrossWorlds team to the concept of its ‘travel rings’. These portals allow the racer in first place to select which world the second lap will take place in, before the racers all return to the original track for the final lap. The aim, Iizuka says, is that “instead of racing the same lap around the same course, you’re going to a different world, a different universe, a whole different racecourse.”
You may like
Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too “stressful” or let players “win all the time”
“It looks like Nintendo did a good job” – Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says Mario Kart World looks more like an action game, whereas Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds “really” focuses on racing and competitive play
I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer
It’s an interesting way to change things up, and it’s also felt across CrossWorlds’ approach to its Grand Prix format. The travel ring means that “we can warp around to different places, we don’t need to stay on the same course,” so the final race in each Grand Prix will be an amalgamation of the previous races.
It’s an interesting new spin on the traditional one-two-three that kart racers have largely relied on for years. It’s also part of why Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can get around introducing characters like Hatsune Miku, and courses based on Minecraft. It might, however, prove to be more controversial than Sega expects – Mario Kart World has just pushed an update that means you’re no longer guaranteed to get a regular three-lap race and it seems to be going down quite badly. Granted, that seems to be because Mario Kart is moving firmly away from the traditional three-lap formula, which CrossWorlds isn’t doing – you’ll just run a different second lap, rather than a whole new race. Still, it makes for a more interesting run-up to launch, especially as Sonic’s biggest competition stumbles during its headstart.
Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too “stressful” or let players “win all the time”
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
See more Nintendo Switch 2 News
Summer Game Fest
Nintendo Switch 2
Xbox Series X
PlayStation
Social Links Navigation
Managing Editor, News
I’m GamesRadar’s Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I’ve run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam’s latest indie hit.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too “stressful” or let players “win all the time”
“It looks like Nintendo did a good job” – Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says Mario Kart World looks more like an action game, whereas Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds “really” focuses on racing and competitive play
I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is getting Minecraft characters and Hatsune Miku to make sure people are “not just playing it when it comes out, having fun, and that being it”
Mario Kart World fans slam Nintendo for making 3-lap tracks even rarer: “Now I have an excuse not to buy the Switch 2”
Nintendo has made my biggest problem with Mario Kart World even worse
Latest in Sonic the Hedgehog
Ultimate Sonic Smackdown is the latest banger dropped by the Sonic fan game community, and it’s filling the Marvel vs Capcom void
Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too “stressful” or let players “win all the time”
10 years ago, Sega producer was convinced he had to “save” Sonic the Hedgehog from certain death: “This brand isn’t going to be around for much longer”
Persona 5 and Hatsune Miku aren’t enough – Sega confirms Mario Kart World rival Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will get new characters every month
Sonic gets an official lore timeline that goes “tens of thousands of years” into the past and 200 years into the future, and somehow canonizes a party game spin-off
We’ll finally learn if Sonic is faster than the Flash as Sega’s famous hedgehog and pals team up with the Justice League in a new mash-up comic
Latest in News
New Switch 2 game comes from the developer of some absolute DS classics, is designed for “adult women,” and is doing something genuinely exciting for visual novels
OG Hytale founder confirms he “will reach out” to Riot Games about buying back the Minecraft rival: “The chances of revival are next to impossible… It’s the least I can do”
Disney’s Tower of Terror movie with Scarlett Johansson is still under maintenance due to “thin” lore
“I might never finish this game, so I’m releasing the demo”: After 9 years, A Short Hike dev soft-cancels Paper Mario-inspired RPG but lets players try a build
Superman star Nicholas Hoult sized up David Corenswet after auditioning for the role himself and knew he was “perfect for it”
One James Bond potential favorite thinks it would be a “nightmare” role after recent rumored list is revealed
GAME REVIEWS
MOVIE REVIEWS
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: “This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse”
Rematch review: “As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic”
Tron: Catalyst review: “Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I’m let down by a time-loop story that falls flat”
FBC: Firebreak review: “A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that’s missing far too much of what made Control special”
Dune: Awakening review: “Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter”
M3GAN 2.0 review: “A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion”
28 Years Later Review: “Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
Predator: Killer of Killers review: “Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation”
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: “Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu”
Karate Kid: Legends review: “Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)”
Squid Game season 3 review: “A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever”
Ironheart review: “A relic of Marvel’s content-at-all-costs era”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: “The show’s most assured run of episodes to date”
Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: ‘The Reality War’ is “a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling”
Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: ‘Wish World’ is “an exciting and ambitious” start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision
GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
Contact Future’s experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Advertise with us
Review guidelines
Write for us
Accessibility Statement
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait…