SEGA used the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds World Championship Finals on October 9 to lay out the game's entire second year, and the headline isn't a guest character. The Standard Edition is now permanently $39.99, down from $69.99, and the Digital Deluxe Edition drops from $89.99 to $59.99. Year Two itself kicks off on November 3 with a free update built around a new head-to-head Duel Mode, a free Bayonetta, the Godzilla Pack, and a release window for all six packs in Season Pass Two. That includes a Final Fantasy VII Remake pack and a second Persona pack.
A permanent price cut, not a sale
SEGA is careful to call the new pricing permanent, and the change has already reached storefronts: on Steam the base game now lists at $39.99 at full price, with no discount timer. For anyone who passed on CrossWorlds at launch in September 2025, the game now costs a little more than half what it did then.
The new bundles take a moment to sort out. Season Pass Two costs $29.99 on its own. A new Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition, also $59.99, pairs the Standard Edition with Season Pass Two. SEGA warns that anyone who already owns the base game should skip it, because it includes a second copy of the game they already have. Retail gets a $59.99 physical Year One Edition at select stores, which bundles the base game with Season Pass One plus a 35th-anniversary reversible cover sheet and logo patch.
Duel Mode headlines the November 3 update
The biggest free addition is Duel Mode, a one-on-one format built around a Duel Boost gauge that charges over time and as you use items. Both racers can see each other's items, gadgets and position, so it plays as a read-your-opponent mind game more than a twelve-car scramble. It comes in four flavors:
- Rival Duel Match - offline races against CPU Rivals drawn from both the free and the paid characters you own. Beat every Rival to earn rewards, including a special machine.
- Duel Match (Free Match) - online matchmaking against random players.
- Duel Match (Best-of-10) - limited-time online events with special rules, Duel Class ranks and Medal rewards.
- Friend Match - private races against friends with custom rules, items and CrossWorlds.
The gadget system gets an upgrade on the same day. A new Grand Master Plate adds a seventh slot, the Super Slot, which boosts one-slot gadgets beyond their normal effect, and 15 new gadgets arrive alongside it. Every racer added since launch, free or paid, also joins the CPU pool, so offline and online lobbies will finally show the full roster instead of just the launch cast.
Three free racers: Bayonetta, a McLaren and Aigis
Bayonetta, revealed in September, arrives free on November 3 and is unlocked through Rival Duel matches. Later in November comes a more unusual free addition: a McLaren Racing Speed-type machine modeled on the real car, driven by Sonic and painted in McLaren's papaya and anthracite livery. In early 2027, Persona 3's Aigis follows with her own Acceleration-type machine, the Palladion Dressy.
Each free character comes with a 10-day themed Festival event, and SEGA says popular Festivals from Year One will return for shorter runs between them.
Season Pass Two: all six packs dated
SEGA had confirmed Godzilla and Evangelion back in the summer. The showcase filled in the rest of the year:
- Godzilla Pack (November 3, 2026) - the Godzilla Escape course and three machines: Godzilla Cruiser, King Ghidorah Coupe and Mothra Surf.
- EVANGELION Pack (January 2027) - the Tokyo-III course, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Shikinami Langley as racers, and EVA-00, EVA-01 and EVA-02 machines.
- Virtual Sanrio Puroland Pack (Q2 2027) - a Puroland course with Hello Kitty and Kuromi as racers.
- SEGALAND Pack (Q3 2027) - a SEGALAND course plus After Burner, OutRun and Super Megalo machines.
- Midgar Pack (working title, Q3 2027) - content from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series.
- Reload Revival Royal Pack (Q4 2027) - more Persona content.
Bonus items, and a reward for owning both passes
Season Pass Two buyers also get two cosmetic sets. The SEGA Controllers Decal Pack is available now, with Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast controller decals plus a Dreamcast VMU design. The SEGA Consoles Pack follows on November 3 with three machines based on a US Genesis tower, a Japanese Saturn and a European Dreamcast.
Players who own both Season Pass One and Season Pass Two also get Super Shadow and his Super Dark Flare machine on November 3, a straightforward reward for players who have bought every pass.
Where to play
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. In the meantime, the Avatar Legends pack lands on October 13, and the Year Two update and Godzilla Pack both arrive on November 3.
