September 25th marks the one-year anniversary of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and though I ranked it lower than Mario Kart World in my best games of 2025 list, I’ve honestly found myself playing it far more frequently thanks to its regular online events, numerous in-game challenges, and it just being a fun time. This is the game that made me a regular PlayStation Plus subscriber so you know it’s doing something right.

As such, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sega announce it would be supporting the game with a second year of DLC, especially since Sega had previously admitted CrossWorlds wasn’t meeting sales expectations and publishers are all too eager to kill post-launch support if video games don’t become overnight successes nowadays.

So, to celebrate the game’s anniversary and for my own amusement, I’m going to see if I can predict which characters will be added to CrossWorlds throughout its second year. To be clear, this isn’t a wishlist of characters I want to see. My aim is to try and get inside of Sega executives’ heads and figure out what sort of characters they’d pick as both free and paid DLC.

Free Sega Characters

CrossWorlds‘ first year saw 13 Sega characters be added to the game via free updates (I’m not counting the three Sonic Prime characters since they’re paid DLC or the Werehog, which was a pre-order bonus and STILL not available as a separate purchase, where is it, Sega?!), so I’m going to run under the assumption that we’ll get a similar number of free Sega characters for year two.

As for who could make it in, there are plenty of reasonable guesses based on not just Sega’s recent output, but its plans for 2026 and 2027 as well as past Sonic racing games.

NOTE: Hey, so uh, as I was writing this, Sega announced the first free character – Bayonetta – who I didn’t have on this list despite it being annoyingly obvious in hindsight. So, I’ve cut down my list of 13 predictions to 12.

1. Surge (Sonic the Hedgehog)

It can be easy to forget with all the guest stars but this is a Sonic the Hedgehog racing game and there are loads of characters from the franchise that myself and other fans would love to see. However, Sega is quite picky when it comes to choosing which Sonic characters get to intermingle and since CrossWorlds only ever received three more Sonic characters in year one, that’s probably as many as the game will get in year two.

With this perceived limited amount of choices, I reckon CrossWorlds will further integrate the IDW comics with the games and finally give fan favourite Surge the Tenrec her console debut. The inclusions of Tangle and Whisper already broke down the barriers and Surge has made appearances in Sonic mobile games so she has a foot in the door. Sure, she’s yet to be given her own voice but that could change in 2027 and even if it doesn’t, I don’t think it would matter since Tangle and Whisper are completely mute in CrossWorlds despite having voice actors.

2. Movie Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

I initially had Surge’s partner Kitsunami the Fennec on this list until I remembered that Sonic The Hedgehog 4 hits cinemas in 2027 and Sega is likely to prioritise adding characters from that over the less famous comics. There’s also precedent of Sega using the games to promote the movies so it only makes sense that it will run a cross-promotion in CrossWorlds.

Adding the movie version of Sonic is admittedly a boring option, but it makes the most sense. Not just because he’s the title character but because Sega wouldn’t need to pay extra for using an expensive actor’s likeness. And as evidenced by the presence of the Sonic Prime characters, Sega clearly isn’t fussed about bringing in alternate versions of the game characters from other media.

3. Movie Amy (Sonic the Hedgehog)

So far, Sega isn’t using the upcoming movie to heavily push Amy like it did with Shadow in the run up to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but considering she’s the big new addition to the movie cast (alongside Metal Sonic), I think her movie counterpart is a more likely pick for CrossWorlds DLC over Tails, Knuckles, or Shadow.

My bet is that her and Movie Sonic will be a Tangle and Whisper situation where they’re added as part of one update in March, either ahead of the movie’s release or around the same time as it.

4. Yu Narukami (Persona 4)

Speaking of cross-promotion opportunities, Persona 4‘s protagonist, Yu Narukami, is the character I’m most confident will make it into CrossWorlds as future DLC. Even ignoring that the Persona series already has a presence in the game thanks to Persona 5‘s Joker, the launch of Persona 4 Revival next year is too perfect a set-up not to take advantage of.

Yu’s inclusion would also mean we’d get some of Persona 4 Revival‘s banging soundtrack as optional songs, though hopefully it’s more than the two (technically three but one of them is post-race victory music you can only listen to in the sound test) Persona 5 tracks that came with Joker. And one of them best be Prime Time Golden Hour Show.

5. Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza/Like a Dragon)

Considering Sega and RGG Studio reversed course hard on retiring Kazuma Kiryu as the poster boy of the inconsistently named Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, I’m a little surprised that he was passed over twice for a Yakuza guest appearance in CrossWorlds. Not that I’m complaining, Ichiban Kasuga deserved to be added first (plus, he has kart racing experience) and Goro Majima is the franchise’s most popular character so it made sense he’d make it in before Kiryu.

While the series is getting a new entry next year in the form of Stranger Than Heaven, Kiryu’s established popularity means he’s far more likely to make it into CrossWorlds over any of the new game’s cast. Especially since it seems Sega and RGG still have plans for him in his own series if that dogshit retcon of an ending in Yakuza Kiwami 3 is anything to go by.

6. Chuck (Angry Birds)

I don’t know how popular Angry Birds still is nowadays (it certainly feels it’s past its peak), but it remains a multibillion dollar franchise and Sega at least thought it was worth spending $776 billion on acquiring it and developer Rovio. So, it’s no surprise the company is eager to push it when and where it can, such as via guest appearances in a Sega published racing game alongside other marketable and popular franchises.

You could argue Red is the only Angry Birds character that warrants being added to CrossWorlds, but there’s a third Angry Birds movie coming out this year so you’d better believe Sega will want people to know about that and will use CrossWorlds as part of its marketing strategy. As for who they’d pick for DLC, I think Chuck is the safest bet if only because he seems to be the deuteragonist of the franchise and his whole thing is being the fast one, making him perfectly suited for a racing game.

7. B.D. Joe (Crazy Taxi)

Sega has already added one Crazy Taxi character – Axel – to CrossWorlds, but since the new Crazy Taxi game isn’t launching till next year, I reckon the company will want to include a second character from the series closer to the time to further promote it.

As for who would be picked, the most obvious choice is B.D. Joe, who I personally view as more of a poster boy for Crazy Taxi than Axel. That’s entirely down to him being the sole Crazy Taxi rep in the two Sega crossover racing games so much like NiGHTS and AiAi, I think that precedent makes him a shoe-in for year two.

8. Ulala (Space Channel 5)

It is shocking that Sega added Space Channel 5 music to CrossWorlds but not Ulala herself. You could argue that this is a sign she’s not being considered for the game, but I believe it could be foreshadowing. And even if it isn’t, Ulala for CrossWorlds makes too much sense.

Space Channel 5 as a series may be languishing nowadays, but Ulala has remained something of a company icon as evidenced by her frequent appearances in Sega crossovers. Not just the racing games, but the original Sega Superstars, the tennis game, and both Project X Zone games. Besides, Sega’s clearly not opposed to mining nostalgia when it comes to adding characters to CrossWorlds. How else do you explain NiGHTS making it in?

9. Gillius Thunderhead (Golden Axe)

I don’t think I ever heard that Sega and Paramount were working on a Golden Axe cartoon (apparently they said as much in 2024?) but seeing the trailer drop last month helped bump up Gillius Thunderhead’s chances of making it into CrossWorlds if only for, again, that sweet cross promotion synergy.

Gillius was also in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed so he has racing game experience. I do wonder if he’d see a slight redesign to more closely resemble how he looks in the cartoon but if Sega still has his Racing Transformed character model on hand, they could simply re-use that to save on costs.

10. Sakura Shinguji (Sakura Wars)

I honestly expected Sakura Shinguji to have been added to CrossWorlds by now since there’s a Boost vehicle already in the game called the Sakura Board, which felt like a direct reference to her. In retrospect, all the DLC characters (except for Tangle and Whisper) came with their own vehicles so Sakura’s chances probably weren’t as high as I expected. However, I don’t think a year two appearance is completely out of the question.

This month marks Sakura Wars‘ 30th anniversary and it’s an occasion Sega is putting some effort into since it announced plans to celebrate it earlier this year. On top of that, Sakura Wars was mentioned as part of the Sega Universe initiative to support older franchises. I’m sure fans would much prefer a new game but if Sega is serious about shining a light back on Sakura Wars, re-introducing its title character to people through CrossWorlds is a smart and obvious way to do it.

11. Cielo Salinas (Virtua Fighter)

I was hesitant to add Cielo Salinas to this list since while I do think CrossWorlds will get a Virtua Fighter character to tie in with the new game launching next year, I’m in two minds about who would be picked to represent it. So far, Cielo makes the most sense as he’s being positioned as the new game’s lead protagonist.

However, I could also see Sega choosing Akira instead, not just because he’s the OG lead and thus more of an exciting pull for Virtua Fighter fans, but also because he showed up in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. He admittedly didn’t do any actual racing and sat in the passenger seat while Jacky Bryant took the wheel but at least it proves Sega isn’t opposed to adding Virtua Fighter to its wacky cartoon kart racers.

12. Beat (Jet Set Radio)

I was going to pull the old ‘cross promotion’ argument once more for why I think Beat will be added to CrossWorlds, but I had forgotten that Sega’s promised Jet Set Radio reboot doesn’t have a release date yet. So, it may not even come out next year, especially when there’s been no real updates for it since the 2023 reveal.

Even so, Beat’s chances are strong thanks to his regular appearances in past Sega crossovers, including the two racing games. Plus, Sega isn’t so strict as to wait for a new game to drop alongside DLC additions as proven by how Axel made it in long before the new Crazy Taxi is due to come out. If anything, adding Beat would help to keep Jet Set Radio in players’ minds until the new game is ready to launch.

Season Pass Crossovers

I initially hesitated trying to predict what franchises will be included in the season pass because at least with the free characters, those are confined to just Sega. Between not just CrossWorlds, but other collaborations such as the comics and Sonic Rumble Party, Sega seems open to having Sonic cross over with near enough anything, meaning there’s little limit to what could be added to CrossWorlds in year two.

But I’ve decided to take a crack at it anyway just to make things a bit more interesting. Also, since the first season pass consisted of three video game crossovers and three non-video game crossovers, I’m going to assume that’ll be the case for the second season pass. Godzilla and Evangelion are already confirmed so that means I’m predicting three game crossovers and one non-game crossover.

1. Fortnite

Look, I don’t like it either but Fortnite‘s current season has a substantial amount of Sonic content so it’s not unreasonable to assume that Sega and Epic Games’ collaboration works both ways. And as much as Fortnite markets itself on its crossovers, the game is not without at least a couple of mascots it can loan to CrossWorlds‘ roster.

Jonesy is the obvious choice but I could see Peely and/or Fishstick joining him. The Battle Bus is also an easy pick for a new vehicle and you could get an interesting racetrack out of the Fortnite island thanks to how varied its environments are.

2. Monster Hunter

Sega and Capcom seem to have a solid working relationship based on how often they’ve collaborated in the past. Even before CrossWorlds, there were two Sonic/Mega Man comic crossovers, a Monster Hunter costume in Sonic Frontiers, and Sonic related content in Monster Hunter Rise. This is why I feel certain Capcom will be more than willing to contribute to another CrossWorlds collab and the next obvious choice after Mega Man is Monster Hunter, especially when it can double as a promotion for Monster Hunter Wilds, which so happens to be getting a big expansion next year.

If the Godzilla collab is anything to go by, it wouldn’t even need to add any playable characters. Monster Hunter‘s most iconic stars are the monsters themselves and I doubt we’d get something as goofy as a Rathalos driving a race car. A new racetrack and vehicles based on a few of the series’ most popular beasties would be more than welcome though they could add a playable Palico too.

3. Katamari

When I was researching past instances of Sonic crossing over with other video games to try and get some ideas for this list, I realised all the most obvious picks are in CrossWorlds already. Aside from Super Mario (which is not making it in due to CrossWorlds being multiplatform), there are no other gaming franchises from previous Sonic crossovers that seem big or noteworthy enough for the season pass. Not to be mean, but I don’t think people would rush to pay for DLC characters from Cookie Run or KartRider.

So, I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say CrossWorlds year two will feature a gaming franchise Sonic hasn’t collaborated with before – Katamari. I will admit, this sounds like a very random pick, but Sega has worked with Bandai Namco before on more than one occasion beside CrossWorlds‘ Pac-Man content and out of all of Bandai Namco’s franchises, Katamari seems like a natural fit. The Prince and his cousins make for good roster picks and you could make a fun race track out of Katamari‘s wacky world.

4. KPop Demon Hunters

This is another completely random guess but it makes a lot of sense to me. KPop Demon Hunters was a god damn phenomenon last year and if Sega wants to make some easy money and get more people to play CrossWorlds, especially young kids, adding HUNTR/X would be a very smart move. And if the AMVs I’ve seen on my YouTube home page are anything to go by, there’s a decent amount of crossover between the Sonic and KPop Demon Hunters fandoms already.

This isn’t even getting into the soundtrack potential. I’m sure some people would purchase a KPop Demon Hunters DLC pack if it meant they could race to tunes like Golden. I can even see the announcement trailer in my mind. Imagine watching Summer Game Fest and you see some CrossWorlds gameplay, it fades to the black, and then you hear the opening notes to How It’s Done start playing. I guarantee you the crowd would pop off