Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year 2 Season Pass Upsets Fans Over Deluxe Edition’s “All Paid DLC” Promise
This weekend, SEGA kicked off the Sonic 35th Celebration and CrossWorlds Championship, which revealed that the arcade racing game, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, will be getting another year of support.
While that should have been met with good news from the game’s community, it seems SEGA’s wording has rubbed a number of people the wrong way.
For Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds second year, SEGA is launching a Year 2 Pass, adding new courses and racers…provided gamers are willing to pay for it. Now, the community, is quick to point out SEGA’s promise before the racing game was released last year.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Year 2 Content Schedule
The Season Pass 2 for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds brings six new premium DLC packs, and they are all collaborations with other entertainment franchises.
DLC Pack #1 – Godzilla Pack – Releasing November 3, 2026
- Course: Godzilla Escape
- Machines: Godzilla Cruiser, King Ghidorah Coupe, Mothra Surf
- Additional Jukebox music tracks
- Additional sounds
DLC Pack #2 – EVANGELION Pack – Releasing January 2027
- Course: Tokyo-III
- Racers: Rei Ayanami, Asuka Shikinami Langley
- Machines: EVA-01 (TEST TYPE), EVA-00 (PROTO TYPE), EVA-02 (PRODUCTION MODEL)
- Additional Jukebox music tracks
- Additional character emotes
- Additional sounds
DLC Pack #3 – Virtual Sanrio Puroland Pack – Releasing Q2 2027
- Course: Virtual Sanrio Puroland
- Racers: Hello Kitty, Kuromi
- Machines: Hello Kitty Apple Kart, Kuromi Charming Cruiser
- Additional Jukebox music tracks
- Additional character emotes
- Additional sounds
DLC Pack #4 – SEGALAND Pack – Releasing Q3 2027
- Course: SEGALAND
- Machines: After Burner, OutRun, Super Megalo
- Additional Jukebox music tracks
- Additional sounds
The last two DLC packs are still a mystery, though SEGA has confirmed it’ll be crossovers with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake game, and the Persona series.
- DLC Pack #5 – Midgar Pack (Working Title) from the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Series – Releasing Q3 2027
- DLC Pack #6 – Reload Revival Royal Pack from the Persona Series – Releasing Q4 2027
There are also bonus content revealed for Season Pass 2 buyers, and even more if you also own Season Pass 1.
Bonus Season Pass Two Content #1 – SEGA Controllers Decal Pack – Available starting October 9, 2026
- Decals: GENESIS Controller, SEGA SATURN Controller, Dreamcast Controller, Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit
Bonus Season Pass Two Content #2 – SEGA Consoles Pack – Available for purchase starting November 3, 2026
- Machines: Genesis Tower US, SegaSaturn JP, Dreamcast EU
Bonus Season Pass One + Two Content – Super Shadow – Available for purchase starting November 3, 2026 (must own both Season Pass One and Season Pass Two)
- Racer: Super Shadow
- Machine: Super Dark Flare
Alongside the Season Pass 2 content reveal, SEGA has also detailed the new updates headed to the racing game starting on November 3.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Major Day One Updates for Year 2
Duel Mode – In Year Two of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, battle your way to the finish line with the thrilling, all-new 1v1 Duel Mode. In Duel Mode, players race against a single opponent where item tactics and the new Duel Boost mechanic play critical roles in overcoming the competition. The game-changing Duel Boost gauge is filled over time – and with frequent item usage and – can be used strategically to gain large bursts of speed throughout the race. And with the ability to see your opponents’ items, gadgets, and race position, playing offense and defense with your own items is key to gaining and keeping the advantage. Duel Mode can be played in the following ways:
- Rival Duel Match- Offline matches against CPU Rivals (Free and owned Paid DLC characters). Defeat all Rivals to earn rewards, including a special Machine.
- Duel Match (Free Match) – Online races against random player opponents in a free matchmaking environment.
- Duel Match (Best-of-10) – Limited-Time online events with special rules, Duel Class ranks, and Medal rewards for competitive play.
- Friend Match – Online races against friends with customizable Race Rules, Items, and CrossWorlds.
Gadget System Upgrade – A new gadget plate, the Grand Master Plate, gets introduced at the beginning of Year Two, which adds a 7th “Super Slot” for 1-slot gadgets. Any 1-slot gadget that’s placed into the Super Slot will have its boosted effect even more amplified, opening up more combinations and possibilities for creative gadget builds. Also, 15 new gadgets will be introduced on Day One to the robust collection of race-changing performance boosts, with more to come with future content updates.
Post-Launch Characters as CPU Racers – Both Free characters and Paid DLC characters introduced to the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds roster after its September 25, 2025 release will now show up as CPU opponents in both online and offline modes.
Year Two Free Characters – Year Two brings new racers and machines to the already expansive CrossWorlds roster. The first three free characters were announced as part of the Year Two showcase:
- Bayonetta – Fan-favorite Bayonetta graces CrossWorlds with her presence. Bayonetta will be available on November 3, 2026 as a character to be unlocked via Rival Duel matches.
- McLaren Racing – A Speed-type machine modeled after the real racing car, driven by Sonic in McLaren’s Papaya and Anthracite livery. Available later in November 2026.
- Aigis – A member of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad and a transfer student at Gekkoukan High, Aigis enters the race with her Palladion Dressy, an Acceleration-type machine, in early 2027.
- Each free character drop will be followed by a uniquely themed, Limited Time Event Festival, which offers bonus content rewards that players can earn by participating in and winning Festival races. All new Festivals will now be active for ten days straight, while past fan-favorite Festivals will return for shorter timeframes.
Now here’s where things take a turn (pun intended). The community has pointed out SEGA’s earlier messaging on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ Digital Deluxe Edition.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Season Pass 2 Causes Gamers to Question Digital Deluxe Messaging
In June 2025, months before Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was released, SEGA announced the contents of the Digital Deluxe Edition, and one particular entry caught the eye of many: SEGA stating that this edition includes “All future paid downloadable content.”
We’ve taken a screenshot of the announcement for reference.
This announcement is something that gamers remembered, and the Season Pass 2 announcement has been “community-noted” on X (formerly Twitter), with people saying SEGA lied to its customer base, given players won’t be able to experience the Season Pass 2 content without purchasing it separately, or by buying the Year-Two Digital Deluxe Edition.
Even members of the game’s subreddit have taken umbrage, with one starting a thread stating that they won’t buy the Season Pass 2, and that they might have a case, suggesting a lawsuit might be coming SEGA’s way.
For SEGA’s part, the company did announce pricing adjustments for the Standard and Digital Deluxe Edition (original one), and they are as follows:
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Standard Edition & Digital Deluxe Edition price-drop – Effective immediately, the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Standard Edition price will be permanently reduced from $69.99 USD down to $39.99 USD and the Digital Deluxe Edition from $89.99 down to $59.99 USD.
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Season Pass Two – The new Season Pass Two can be purchased now for $29.99 USD for all platforms where Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available. It also contains both the SEGA Controllers Decal Pack (available starting October 9, 2026) and the SEGA Consoles Pack (available starting November 3, 2026). The Super Shadow racer and machine will also be granted as bonus content for owners of both Season Pass One and Season Pass Two.
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Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition – The Year Two Digital Deluxe Edition can be purchased now for $59.99 USD for all platforms where Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available. The product includes the Standard Edition of the game and Season Pass Two. Current owners of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds should not purchase this Edition, as they will receive a redundant copy of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Standard Edition.
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Year One Edition (Physical) – The Year One Edition can be purchased for $59.99 USD at select retail stores. This physical product includes the Standard Edition of the game and Season Pass One; it also contains
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The 35th Anniversary reversible coversheet
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The 35th Anniversary logo patch
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Time will tell if the upset community members will stick to their convictions and not buy Season Pass 2, or if SEGA will be sued.
Could SEGA really be held liable for this? Or is this a case of the community overreacting?
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