Sign Up Now to Play Crazy Taxi: World Tour in September

Demolishing sand castles, flinging muscle men into the ocean, delivering pizza at reckless speed through a sun-drenched San Francisco. That's the pitch from Sega's new West Coast trailer for Crazy Taxi: World Tour, and after years of wondering whether this franchise would ever come back, I'm surprised by how much personality is already on display.

Alongside the trailer, Sega announced a multiplayer closed network test running from September 11 at 5:00 p.m. PT to September 13 at 5:00 p.m. PT. Sign-ups are open now on the official Crazy Taxi: World Tour website and close on August 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The test covers PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Xbox on PC, with cross-play supported across all three. Sega notes that certain platforms "may have limited participant capacity," so registering early is probably wise.

Switch 2 is listed as a launch platform for the full game in 2027, but it won't be part of this test. That's not unusual for a network stress test focused on online infrastructure, though Switch 2 owners will have to wait a bit longer to see how the game runs on Nintendo's hardware.

What the Test Includes

The closed network test is multiplayer-only. Sega confirmed the full retail release will have single-player and story modes, but neither will appear here. Instead, players get two online modes: Pickup Race and Cops 'N' Cabbies.

Pickup Race is the one that sounds closest to classic Crazy Taxi. Up to six players compete to drop off as many passengers as possible within a time limit, earning as much "crazy money" as they can. Cops 'N' Cabbies splits those six players into two three-person teams competing against each other. Sega hasn't elaborated much on what the cops side of that equation looks like, but the name alone suggests some kind of pursuit mechanic layered on top of the fare-chasing chaos.

Both modes can be played as Ranked Match or Custom Match, with custom lobbies allowing players to set their own rules. There will be two maps, four playable characters, and six cars with tune-up options. For a network test, that's a reasonable amount of content to stress-test matchmaking and server stability without giving away the whole game.

Real Brands, Old Traditions

One detail that caught my eye: Sega is continuing the original Crazy Taxi tradition of featuring real-world storefronts as in-game destinations. The West Coast map will include IHOP and Amoeba Music, with Sega promising that each of the game's maps will spotlight regional retailers. The original games famously featured Pizza Hut, KFC, and Tower Records as drop-off points, and whether those specific brands return hasn't been confirmed. Given how well Sega has handled brand integration in the Yakuza series over the years, I'd expect some interesting picks when additional maps are revealed.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour was first shown at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, and its debut made a strong impression. The game is being built as a live, multiplayer-driven take on the franchise while still promising a solo story mode for players who want the classic single-player loop. It's a tricky balance. Plenty of beloved single-player franchises have stumbled when pivoting to online multiplayer, and Sega will need this network test to prove the competitive modes are fun enough to stand on their own.

The elephant in the room is the generative AI controversy. When Crazy Taxi: World Tour was revealed, Sega confirmed it had used generative AI on some art assets, which drew immediate backlash. The studio has since committed to replacing all AI-generated assets before the final 2027 launch. I'm glad they walked it back, but its happening at all left a mark on what should have been a clean revival announcement.

If you want in, register at the Crazy Taxi: World Tour website before August 31. Selected players will be among the first to test the game's online infrastructure before its full release sometime in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.