Sega announced not one, not two, butfive revivals of classic IPs during the last Game Awards, including an all-new entry in theCrazy Taxiseries. Anyone hoping for a traditional recreation of its single-player score attack gameplay needs to rethink their expectations, though, as Sega has officially described it as an online multiplayer game with an open world setting.
Very little was known about the newCrazy Taxi, with only a few seconds of gameplay teased back in December. Earlier today, Sega publisheda video to its YouTube channelfeaturing the development team discussing the title. It’s entirely in Japanese but, according toAutomaton, the team mentioned testing the game with multiplayer in mind. Online functionality has been confirmed bynew job openings on Sega’s website, with the game referred to as a “large-scale online title.”
That said, you should still expect it to play like aCrazy Taxigame since the team’s goal is to maintain the original style while still implementing new mechanics. At the very least, it’ll most certainly retain the series’ visual style. This was already evident by the brief footage we’ve seen of it, but the Sega video also stated that the new game’s theme park-like map will be inspired by U.S. cities, much like the maps in previous games.
There remain a number of questions surrounding the newCrazy Taxi, but it being described as a primarily online multiplayer game makes it sound like it could be a live-service. In fact, aBloomberg reportfrom 2022 alleged this would be the case, with Sega chasing after theFortnitemodel, meaning plenty of microtransactions, too. I imagine a lot ofCrazy Taxifans would prefer a traditional arcade-style title like the older ones, but Sega clearly wants this revival to be a huge success, which means appealing to a much broader audience.
Personally, a multiplayerCrazy Taxidoes sound appealing. The previous games could get chaotic already since they were all about getting your passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible. Having multiple players all competing with other should only add to the chaos. The gameplay teaser at The Game Awards also appeared to confirm an option to play as cops pursuing the taxi drivers, adding another layer of competitiveness.
Pursuing a live service model, however, still invites risks. While there are plenty of live services that remain popular, likeFortniteandApex Legends, several others have been forced to shut down after only a year or two. The newCrazy Taximay have an advantage since it’s not just another battle royale shooter, so it won’t be trying to weigh in on crowded territory and should have the freedom to carve its own dedicated niche. But while I’m sure long-time fans of the series will at least check it out at launch, the most important questions are whetherCrazy Taxiwill attract enough newcomers to the series and whether it can retain a large enough player base to warrant long-term support.
