From the initial premise, the “CrossWorlds” subtitle of seemingly referred only to the game mechanic of the same name, transporting players to different worlds mid-race. However, thanks to recent leaks and the Summer Game Fest trailer, the tagline is more than just a mechanic, referencing that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will feature characters from franchises beyond Sonic the Hedgehog.

As Summer Game Fest revealed that Persona, Yakuza, Minecraft, and Hatsune Miku would be represented, there may be more franchises that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds could add. There are currently some characters missing that have appeared in the Sonic racing games prior, but other collaborations could make their debut. The crossovers currently known are making Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds seem like it could be the Super Smash Bros. of the racing genre, and the inclusion of some other properties could elevate it to this level.

Despite Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds dropping the “Sega All-Stars” branding that its predecessors had, the Summer Game Fest trailer showed it isn’t afraid to dip into Sega’s other IPs for crossovers, and it had teased prior that it would reference other Sega games: among Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ many courses is a track based on Velteor from Galaxy Force, a classic Sega arcade rail shooter. As it is apparent that Sega is willing to include its other properties, there are more which would be great additions to Sonic Racing CrossWorlds.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set to release in 2025, but this year also celebrates 25 years of the Jet Set Radio series. In anticipation of the next Jet Set Radio game, Sega has been featuring its characters across other franchises as a crossover. Most recently, Beat’s redesign in the upcoming follow-up was playable in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. To continue the celebration of the series’ 25th anniversary, characters and courses based on the world of Jet Set Radio would be a great way to keep the festivities going.

The most likely contenders for characters would be Beat and Gum, both of which have become the face of the Jet Set Radio series. This pair has appeared in other Sega crossovers before, like Sega Superstars Tennis and Sega Heroes. Adding them both to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds wouldn’t be unprecedented, especially since they both also appeared in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. With his newfound focus in the Jet Set Radio reboot, Combo could also be added to the roster.

Both Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed called back to Jet Set Radio in their courses too. The Shibuya Downtown track appeared in both games, but Rokkaku Hill, Highway Zero, and Graffiti City also represented the Jet Set Radio series. If Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is taking inspiration from the previous racing games, it could include a familiar Jet Set Radio track, or possibly introduce a new one based on the upcoming reboot.

NiGHTS is also closely linked with the Sonic series, with its titular character appearing multiple times throughout the mainline Sonic games. As well as their cameos on a pinball table in Sonic Adventure and as a costume for the avatar in Sonic Forces, they have also featured alongside Sonic in his past racing outings. Being another Sonic Team property, their inclusion in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds would feel like a perfect fit, and a great way to acknowledge fans of the series who have been waiting for more representation of the Nightmaren.

From leaks, it has been shown that NiGHTS will be represented in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, but so far, this has only been confirmed as an in-game Festival event. These Festivals are seemingly similar to Splatoon’s Splatfests, where players choose a team based on a certain topic. While this alone is a nice nod to the series, representation in the form of a racer, vehicle, or track is what the series deserves.

NiGHTS and Reala’s appearances in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed had both of the characters transform into vehicles piloted by a Nightopian and Goodle respectively. While this idea could carry over to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, fans of the series may want NiGHTS and Reala to be playable drivers themselves. Vehicles in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds are no longer restricted to specific racers, allowing players to mix and match as they like. With this new addition, it’s possible that the NiGHTS-inspired karts from the previous games could be included alongside NiGHTS and Reala as unique racers, switching the driver out with a Nightopian or Goodle if the kart matches the driver.

The inclusion of Minecraft and Nickelodeon content in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was leaked from a trustworthy source ahead of Summer Game Fest, and from that point, fans have been eager to hear about the other third-party properties that may cross over with the game. Sonic has collaborated with many different IPs in recent years, so there is a chance that these could also make an appearance in the upcoming racing title.

Recently, Sega and DC collaborated to create a series of comics combining the universes of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Justice League. The DC X Sonic the Hedgehog crossover could continue into the games by adding collab content into Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Though it is unconfirmed if Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will feature character skins, it would be great to see Sonic as the Flash or Shadow as Batman represented in-game.

Otherwise, a crossover could feature the actual Justice League in some way instead. This could be the characters themselves racing alongside the Sonic cast, or could instead be represented by vehicles. The Batmobile has appeared in many video games before, and there are plenty of other DC vehicles that are just as iconic, like Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet and Lobo’s Spacehog.

There are also plenty of locations in the DC universe that could be added to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as tracks. Many of the courses included in the game already draw from the bright and colorful zones in the Sonic series, so DC-based tracks could stand in contrast to this and give the game some more variety. Metropolis would fit the tone of the game well, but the crime-filled streets of some DC cities could diversify the choices available.

Another franchise that has recently crossed over with the Sonic the Hedgehog series is Transformers. So far, the collab has yielded two Transformers toys based on Sonic and Tails. Tails transforms into the series staple Tornado, whereas Sonic’s vehicle mode resembles the Speed Star, Sonic’s vehicle of choice from past racing titles. The Transformers and Sonic collab might be able to be reversed, adding some notable Autobots and Decepticons to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

With their abilities to transform, these characters could be included both as a character and a vehicle. The logistics of this may be difficult, but it would give fans of the series the best of both worlds. What is more likely, however, is that the Transformers characters would be vehicles that the rest of the roster would be able to drive. Since Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds maintains Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’s transformation mechanics, it could be possible that a Transformers character would be similar to AGES from that game. For a character based on the Decepticons, the vehicle’s land form could resemble Megatron’s Cybertronian Tank before being switched out with Starscream when in flight mode.

LEGO is another possible crossover to be added to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. A brick-built Sonic has been available in playable and physical minifigure form since the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog Level Pack for Lego Dimensions, which also included Sonic’s vehicle from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed in LEGO form. This collaboration has continued into new sets and games. Its inclusion in the upcoming racing game could be a great way to extend this partnership further.

Some of the main Sonic characters have had their recent LEGO minifigure variants converted into playable skins in a game. One of the character skin DLCs for Sonic Superstars included a LEGO version of the blue hedgehog and Eggman and was released alongside the LEGO Fun Pack, which gave Tails, Knuckles, and Amy a similar LEGO makeover. Since Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is keeping the vehicle transformation present is Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, LEGO’s emphasis on creating and rebuilding could be the perfect fit.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World releasing so closely to one another has led to a lot of comparison between the two, but including a LEGO crossover could be Sega beating Nintendo to the punch in one way. In the same year that these two kart racers release, LEGO also released LEGO sets themed around Mario Kart. If LEGO were to cross over with the Sonic series once again in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega’s kart racer could include LEGO minifigs and karts based on its characters before the real-world Mario Kart sets feature in a game.

The crossover characters that players already know will be in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds already generate a lot of excitement, but with there still being many slots available on the Season Pass, there are likely many more collaborations to come. Since Mario Kart World has expanded its roster by including standard enemies as drivers, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds may be able to compete with Nintendo with its unexpected crossovers.