Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Kicks Off Year Two With a New Duel Mode and Lower Prices

Sega kicked off Year Two of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on November 3, adding a one-on-one Duel Mode, a new Gadget-boosting Super Slot and a permanent price cut to the kart racer's three editions, according to a PlayStation Blog post published the same day. The update lands roughly 14 months after the game's September 2025 launch and sets up the next wave of paid and free crossover content Sega detailed earlier this year.

A new way to race: Duel Mode

Where standard CrossWorlds races pack 12 racers onto a single track, Duel Mode strips things down to a single opponent. "Duel Mode was created to offer a different experience from the standard 12-player races by focusing on the unique strategy that comes with one-on-one competition," the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds development team told PlayStation Blog. "By letting players focus on their distance from their opponent and how they use items, races can unfold in entirely different ways."

The team described it as a format built around positioning and item timing rather than the pack-racing chaos the base game is known for, giving returning players a reason to revisit tracks they have already mastered.

The Super Slot reshuffles Gadget strategy

Year Two also introduces the Super Slot, a dedicated equipment slot that amplifies whatever single-slot Gadget a player places in it. Sega's developers said the feature is meant to deepen the loadout experimentation that has defined CrossWorlds since launch, giving min-maxers new combinations to chase without changing the core kart-customization system.

Three consoles become racing machines

The update's headline cosmetic reveal is the Sega Consoles Pack, which turns the Dreamcast, Genesis and Saturn into drivable vehicles. According to the development team, the pack began as an April Fool's joke before Sega decided to build it for real. "We incorporated design elements that instantly remind players of each console, such as their colors, shapes, and button layouts," the team said, pointing to the Dreamcast's rounded shell and recreated Visual Memory Unit, and the Genesis and Saturn's angular, subdued-toned bodywork. The Genesis Tower US variant reportedly needed extra passes so its distinctive antenna wouldn't block the view of a racer's character model mid-race.

The Sega Consoles Pack is bundled as a bonus for owners of the Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition and for anyone who buys Season Pass Two, rather than being sold on its own.

Prices drop for good

Alongside the content update, Sega permanently cut Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' price across every edition on PlayStation Store and other storefronts. The Standard Edition now costs $39.99, while both the Digital Deluxe Edition and the new Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition sell for $59.99. All three had launched well above those prices in 2025.

What else is coming to Season Pass Two

Year Two's paid track runs through Season Pass Two, which Sega's newsroom said in June would bundle six crossover DLC packs over the coming months, starting with Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion content and expanding later into other franchises Sega has not yet fully detailed. That announcement, tied to Sonic's 35th anniversary celebrations, also confirmed that free character drops would continue into Year Two, a pattern Sega says is meant to keep the roster growing without requiring every player to buy into the paid track. Specifics on additional Season Pass Two packs beyond Godzilla and Evangelion have not been confirmed and should be treated as a roadmap rather than a release schedule until Sega posts further details.

Sega has not said whether Duel Mode will expand with ranked matchmaking or additional rule variants beyond the offline and online formats already built into the update. For now, Year Two is live on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.