Mario Kart World‘s Sega-backed competitor, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, has hit impressive milestones shortly after its release, intensifying the rivalry between the two kart racing sims. While players and critics have long compared the franchises, their 2025 clash is particularly interesting due to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds‘ new marketing approach.
In June 2025, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka threw shade at Mario Kart World by mocking its Nintendo Switch exclusivity. Iizuka claimed that, unlike “another kart racing game,” Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds would support cross-platform play. This was just the beginning of direct jabs at Nintendo’s beloved IP, as Sonic Team later released a commercial mocking Mario Kart World‘s free-roam mode.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Has ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ Reviews
Amid the rivalry between the two Japanese kart racing games, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds launched on September 25 to a positive reception, with reviews on all platforms showing strong support from players. Developer Sonic Team’s new game has also become one of Steam’s bestsellers, suggesting potential financial success for Sega. As of this writing, the game has peaked at over 13,000 concurrent players on Steam alone (via SteamDB) and holds an average user score of “Overwhelmingly Positive.” Critics have praised the game as well, giving it an average score of 83 out of 100 on the review aggregator OpenCritic.
Although Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds‘ early stats suggest a strong start, it remains a smaller franchise compared to Mario Kart. Nintendo’s latest installment has sold around six million copies since hitting the market as a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title, and that’s on a single platform. While official sales data for Sega’s CrossWorlds isn’t available yet, it seems unlikely to reach the same player count as Mario Kart World.
For the record, Mario Kart is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with hundreds of millions of copies sold since its launch. Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe edition alone have sold over 70 million copies. By comparison, unconfirmed data suggests that Team Sonic Racing has sold around four million copies.
Despite the undeniable competition between Sega and Nintendo, many players who have tried both Mario Kart World and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds agree that each game has its own strengths. For Nintendo’s kart racing game, the appeal lies in the excitement of exploration. For Sega’s Sonic-inspired title, the draw is the thrill of high-speed, adrenaline-fueled races. In the end, the real winners seem to be the players, who now have two acclaimed racing games to enjoy.
- Released
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September 25, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence
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