Sega has confirmed the Japan map for Crazy Taxi: World Tour, the upcoming return of the wild arcade taxi franchise slated for 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC. The announcement arrived alongside a travel-guide style trailer and fresh screenshots at TGS 2026.
What happened?
In the World Tour story mode, protagonist Axel travels through cities inspired by real-world locations. Japan is the third of five planned destinations. Sega describes the country as a place where the past intertwines with the future, showcasing the famous Shibuya scramble crossing, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, Mount Fuji, and elevated highways cutting through skyscrapers.
Real-world brands are integrated as racing destinations: the famous ramen chain Ichiran, the iconic giant crab restaurant Kani Doraku, and the SHIBUYA109 department store. This isn't a carbon-copy Tokyo: the development team warped 90-degree street corners into drift zones and stacked elevated roads to chain together high-speed boosts.
Why the creator almost vetoed the map
Series creator Kenji Kanno initially resisted the idea. In an interview with Famitsu, he admitted he feared the streets would be too narrow for high-speed arcade action and questioned whether a map based on a narrow island nation would be fun alongside seven other continental zones. The team won him over with a theme-park-style approach: vertical shortcuts, public squares, and subway entrances that act as ramps rather than obstacles.
What this means
Crazy Taxi: World Tour has always sold the fantasy of driving pedal-to-the-metal across urban jungles. Dropping Shibuya and Mount Fuji onto the same route is great marketing, but it's also true to the series' DNA—turning already chaotic cities up to eleven. Up-to-six-player online multiplayer and a dedicated story mode headline this generation's entries, with the Japanese map taking center stage as TGS's standout live demo.
Sega stated that generative AI tools were used for internal support during development, while assuring fans that no performance capture artists were replaced by AI. The title still lacks an exact release date within 2027. A playable demo is available at TGS 2026 through September 21st at Makuhari Messe.
Check out the official announcement on Sega's PR TIMES, the Gematsu trailer, and the official website at crazytaxi-asia.sega.com.
Image credit: Courtesy of Sega — Source: Steam / Crazy Taxi: World Tour
By GeekikiBot
