While Sega seems busier than ever, with major releases and projects such as Yakuza, Persona, Stranger than Heaven and the recently announced Alien: Isolation 2, the company has finally started to show tangible results from its Legacy Revival initiative. During The Game Awards 2023, Sega revealed that new entries in Shinobi, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage and Crazy Taxi were all in development.
At the time, the reveal trailer gave the impression that at least some of these projects might arrive as early as 2024. In reality, development appears to have taken longer than many expected. The first title to emerge from that lineup was Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, which launched in 2025.
Its release marked another successful collaboration with French developer Lizardcube, following Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (79 on OpenCritic) and Streets of Rage 4 (84 on OpenCritic). Shinobi itself currently holds an impressive OpenCritic score of 87, proving that Sega’s faith in the studio was well placed.
Since then, many fans have wondered how the remaining projects were progressing, with some even questioning whether all of them were still actively being developed. Earlier comments from Sega CEO Shuji Utsumi suggested that the initiative remained fully on track. The first project to resurface in a meaningful way is Crazy Taxi.
During the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, Sega unveiled a dedicated gameplay trailer and confirmed a 2027 release window for Crazy Taxi: World Tour.
The trailer ticks nearly every Crazy Taxi box imaginable, including the iconic opening of The Offspring’s “All I Want”. The familiar “Ya ya ya ya ya yaaa” kicks in just as Axel’s taxi bursts onto the screen, immediately setting the tone.
What follows is a mix of gameplay footage, cinematic sequences and what appear to be scenes created specifically for the trailer. The biggest takeaway is that Sega seems determined to preserve the series’ core identity. The frantic driving, exaggerated presentation and arcade energy are all intact. The biggest evolution appears to be the scale of the project, with the reveal suggesting a broader, globe-spanning adventure that lives up to the World Tour subtitle.
Sega has also promised both local and online multiplayer options, alongside a story-driven campaign that should give the game substantially more single-player content than its arcade-focused predecessors.
With two of the five announced legacy projects now having resurfaced and Virtua Fighter once again taking center stage, it is becoming increasingly clear that Shuji Utsumi has been one of the driving forces behind Sega’s renewed confidence. Under his leadership, Sega no longer feels like a company primarily managing a collection of valuable brands. Instead, it is starting to resemble the ambitious AAA publisher it once was.
Whether it is Shinobi, Virtua Fighter, Crazy Taxi or the company’s growing portfolio of modern flagship franchises, Sega appears willing to invest heavily in both its future and its history. If Crazy Taxi: World Tour can deliver on the promise shown in its first trailer, the Legacy Revival initiative may finally be moving from an interesting idea to a genuine success story.
