Cult Crazy Taxi Is Coming Back As AAA Game Thanks to SEGA
Crazy Taxi returns along with many of SEGA's other old series. And it may be developed as a high-budget title.
UPDATE
Midori provided fresh news about Crazy Taxi and more. According to the information she obtained, the remake of the classic Crazy Taxi will be released first, followed by the AAA game mentioned in the original news, developed as a game service.
The second game is expected to include, among other features, a survival mode that can accommodate 100 players at the same time. There will also be various online events, collaborations, crossovers, and cosmetic additions. The Jet Set brand is set to follow a similar path, with a remake of the original preceding the reboot's premiere. However, while the new Crazy Taxi is expected to take inspiration primarily from GTA Online, Jet Set will mainly draw from Fortnite. The open-world game style should also include shooter elements.
Original news (February 19th)
Sega has by no means abandoned the dream of "supergames" in its catalog. According to Japan Times, the publisher sees the new installment of the Crazy Taxi series as one of its AAA titles (high-budget productions).
The article is dedicated to the activities of the new studio of the company, which was established in 2021 in Sapporo. Among the journalists' interlocutors was Takaya Segawa, who leads the team and is a senior executive at Sega Corporation. The Japanese referred to games that were co-created by the developer (who is currently not working independently), including involvement in the development of "AAA titles, such as Crazy Taxi" (via Video Games Chronicle).
It might be surprising because up to now Sega hasn't made much effort to distinguish Crazy Taxi. After all, it was one of the many projects (sic!) that the Japanese publisher revealed during The Game Awards 2023 gala, and it didn't give it any more time or space than the other announced games.
Another thing is that we basically know nothing specific about any of these titles. Sega displayed brief gameplay footage and slides from the December financial report. That's all we have learned about the titles from the so-called Next Level initiative, which aims to revive iconic brands from the publisher's catalog.
Now, many signs indicate that Sega doesn't intend - as it might have seemed - to bring these series back to life in the form of smaller projects, for instance, remasters. Fans of Crazy Taxi would hardly complain if their beloved game returned after 22 years as a high-budget title. Unless it met the same fate as the other Japanese "supergame."
