SEGA has released the latest major update for Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, adding new content for free via version 1.3.1. It’s now out on all platforms.

From new gadgets and modes to even some collaboration items, here’s a breakdown of everything included in this update.

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Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Version Free Content Update 1.31 | Update 1.031 for Today, March 18, 2026

Mode Updates

• World Match can now be played even during Festivals

• Increased Donpa Ticket rewards in World Match/Legend Competition by at least double

• Updated all modes (except Time Trial) with Bonus Ring Frenzy and Item Box Frenzy 

• Increased maximum rating in World Match from 99,999 to 999,999

Content Updates

• Added 8 new Gadgets that expand how you can use Rings
• Added a new Frenzy Mode, “Bonus Ring Frenzy,” which causes bonus rings to appear on the course
• Added the album “Sega Racing & Variety,” containing 8 classic Sega racing tracks
• Added 5 collaboration decals including Joe Musashi
• Added 30 decals from brand collaborations

New Options

• It’s now possible to add/change a button that triggers the ability of Gadgets
• It’s now possible to disable rental plates from automatically equipping during Festivals

Other Additions and Adjustments

• Balance adjustments for races and Gadgets
• Other adjustments, bug fixes, and additions to future live-service data

Mode and Content Update Details

World Match/Legend Competition

• World Match can now be played even during Festivals!
• World Match maximum rating has been increased from 99,999 to 999,999.
• Increased Donpa Ticket rewards in World Match/Legend Competition

Festivals

• Adjusted CPU strength based on differences in player skill
• We have added new rules to make Festivals even more fun!

New Frenzy Mode

• Added new Frenzy mode*: Bonus Ring Frenzy.
• Item Box Frenzy* can now occur outside of Team Matches as well.

_{*Occurs in all modes except Time Trial.}

New Content – Music & Decals

Added the album “Sega Racing & Variety,” featuring classic Sega racing tracks.

Jukebox tracks

• MAGICAL SOUND SHOWER
  • From: OutRun
• Let’s Go Away
• Soul on Desert
  • From: Sega Rally 2
• Like THE Wind (B COURSE) – ARCADE ver.
  • From: Power Drift
• Outride a Crisis
  • From: Super Hang-On
• Main Theme (Enduro Racer)
  • From: Enduro Racer
• God Only Knows
• Like the Wind [Reborn]
  • From: Power Drift

Collaboration decals

• 5 decals including Joe Musashi

• 6 decals from Five Guys
• 7 decals from Menchies
• 4 decals from Fogo de Chão
• 8 decals from Funko POP!

Addition of Live-Service Data

We have updated content for future live operations.

Gadget Additions and Settings in Ver.1.3.1

New Setting: “Gadget Button”

The “Gadget Button” activates the effect of the “Inventory Swap” Gadget or the new “Item Summon” Gadget during a race when equipped.

An option has been added to assign this button to keys other than the default* (for example, on PlayStation 5, the button can be assigned to L1 or L2).

_{*This feature is not added to the Steam or Epic Games Store versions, as they already allow for custom key assignments.}

New Option: “Autoselect Rental Plate”

Under Festival’s Special Rules, when a rental plate matching the rule is provided, the equipped Gadgets will automatically switch. Turning this option OFF prevents the Gadget Plate from switching automatically*. This can be set under “Options > Race Settings.”

_{*We have confirmed an issue where, when the “Auto Select Rental Plate” option is OFF, the transition animation that plays when race rules change does not display correctly. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in a future update.}

New Gadgets

We’ve added 8 gadgets!

These gadgets can be obtained once your Gadget Plate reaches “Master Plate” or higher.

• Ring Gain
  • Champion Bonus
  • Travel Choice Bonus
• Ring Ability
  • Double Rings
  • Low-Ring Speed Up
  • Ring Engine
  • Hyper Ring Engine
• Item Control
  • Item Summon
• Upgrade/Add Item
  • Go Go Omochao

The following gadgets which were previously distributed as Festival rewards can now be purchased* with Donpa Tickets from the gadget customization screen:

• Character Type Kit
  • Acceleration Character Kit
• Advanced Kit
  • Ace Pilot Kit
  • All-Rounder Kit
  • Wisp Hoarder Kit

_{*These can be purchased if your gadget plate is “Master Plate” or higher}

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Competitive Balance Adjustments

With Ver.1.3.1, we’re aiming to expand tactical variety through Gadget customization. We’ve added new Gadgets and adjusted existing gadgets to enable new playstyles, such as spending held Rings as a resource and gaining benefits by intentionally holding no Rings. Along with this, we’ve expanded Ring Gain Gadgets to further support these new strategies. 

In Ver.1.2, strategies involving continuously gaining invincibility from Ultimate Charge had become dominant, so we shortened its invincibility duration. Since this change risked making comeback strategies from lower positions too strong, we also shortened the duration of the Drill item when used from higher positions. 

In addition, because strategies for climbing from 4th–8th place still had challenges, we strengthened Collision Boost which serves as the starting point for tactics that move players up the ranks by colliding with other machines. Gadgets with similar effects, such as Ring Thief and Spin Drift, are also intended to become more effective through this adjustment. 

We will continue balance adjustments based on Gadget usage rates and win rates.

Gadget Adjustments

• Collision Boost/Power Machine Kit/Power Character Kit: Increased the duration of the Boost.
  • Previously, Collision Boost gave only a momentary speed boost and often failed to result in moving the racer up in position, so we adjusted it to make it more effective in overtaking other racers.
• Crash Pads: Now triggers a Ring‑halving effect when hit by Ring Thief.
• Ultimate Charge/Handling Machine Kit: Reduced the invincibility duration on a Level 4 Boost (from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds.)
  • Ultimate Charge was designed as a racing‑focused Gadget that lets skilled players block attacks. However, as player skill has improved, it was enabling far more defensive opportunities than intended, making it difficult for other Gadgets to compete. This adjustment creates a clearer opening after activation, preserving the original idea of rewarding players’ skill in defending against attacks while still giving others more chances to counter.
• Acceleration Character Kit: Removed the Mini Ring Thief from this kit.
  • Due to its high win rate and the increased customization options made possible by new Gadgets introduced Ver.1.3.1, we’ve reduced the number of effects bundled into this kit.
• Inventory Swap: The Gadget Button UI will now gray out when swap is not possible.

Item Adjustments

• Because using the Drill item made it too easy to jump to 1st place in the final lap, its effect duration has been shortened when the player is in 4th place or higher. Furthermore, the speed drop that occurs just before the Drill effect ends now happens earlier.
• The Special Item Box had low competitive value, so its item lineup and appearance rates have been adjusted.
• In some cases, Item Box Frenzy made it harder than normal to obtain items, so we adjusted box placement and behavior to make items easier to get.

Online Adjustments

• Fixed an issue where desync caused by network conditions could unfairly allow other players to steal Item Boxes.
• CPU racers were too likely to be in the lead early in a race, affecting player‑to‑player interaction, so we reduced their pace right after the start. (This does not apply to Rival races, such as those in Grand Prix.)

Team Match Adjustments

• In Team Matches, ally CPUs were sometimes too slow and put players at a disadvantage, so we’ve increased their pace. (This does not apply to Rival races, such as those in Grand Prix.)
• Powerful items had a greater impact than intended in Team Matches, so their drop rates were reduced. King Boom Boo, in particular, diminished the benefit of running in the lead outside the final lap, so its drop rate was lowered.
• Super Team Boost made it too easy to return to the front, so its duration when far from 1st place was shortened. To increase the advantage of running in the lead outside the final lap, the duration of Super Team Boost when triggered in upper positions was increased.

Course Adjustments

• Adjusted Ring and Item Box placement in PAC-VILLAGE & MAZE and Sky Road where there wasn’t enough risk‑reward balance. (These adjustments do not affect Time Trial.)

Other Adjustments

• Expanded the Titles screen display to accommodate upcoming Festivals and Legend Competition Titles.
• When playing as Tangle, her tail could sometimes block the camera and obscure the view of the course. We adjusted the tail’s movements so it no longer obstructs visibility.
• In the Epic Games Store version, DirectInput controllers can now be used.
• In World Match, Festivals, and Legend Competition lobbies, Fair Play Points will now decrease if a player intentionally disconnects or closes the application.

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Bug Fixes

Jukebox

• Fixed an issue where certain classic Sonic tracks would disappear from the Jukebox after performing specific actions. Updating to Ver.1.3.1 will automatically restore and unlock all affected tracks.

Festivals

• Fixed an issue where animations did not play correctly during the Festival award ceremony when using AI Racer skins.
• Fixed some unintended designs for Hatsune Miku Festival Titles

Legend Competition

• Fixed an issue where the grade‑up animation displayed before the actual required rating.

Time Trial

• Fixed an issue where achieving a goal time identical down to the last three digits to a rank target incorrectly resulted in being graded one rank lower. (Past records will not be updated.)

Online Competition

• Fixed an issue where collisions with other players’ machines caused excessive slowdown when pinned against a wall.
• An issue where invincibility durations could appear longer than intended due to network issues was fixed by synchronizing invincibility end-timing correctly.

Machines

• Fixed an issue where Boost‑type machines sometimes did not bounce correctly on collision with other machines.
• Fixed an issue where being hit by an item attack while drifting or jumping caused the machine to float too high.

Frenzy Time

• Fixed an issue where Boost Frenzy ending during item selection could result in not receiving an item.
• Fixed an issue where the Omochao Warp activating when being lapped during Boost Frenzy sometimes made items unusable.

Courses

Fixed various course‑specific issues.

• Urban Canyon: Drifting and air tricks sometimes became unusable after passing the third Transformation Gate
• Market Street: Early split‑path on the hill caused a dramatic temporary position drop.
• Coral Town: Homing Punch and Slicer behaved incorrectly near the final corner.
• Chao Park: Players could sometimes be launched off‑course in the second corner after the jump area.
• Aqua Forest: There would be odd behavior if a player took damage while crossing the first Dash Ring.
• Aqua Forest: After the third Transformation Gate, the machine wouldn’t transform into Water Mode.
• Minecraft World: Players would be unable to enter the final portal on 3rd lap and return to the main course.
• Minecraft World: Players would fail to transform into Flight Mode in last section of the track on 3rd lap.
• Minecraft World: BGM failed to play correctly on the 3rd lap if set from Jukebox.
• Hidden World: Players would fail to transform into Land Mode at the final Transformation Gate.
• Dragon Road: Dark Gaia Phoenix’s flame attack when the river splits could hit players even during Charge Jumps on water. Fixed by making it easier to avoid by jumping.
• Digital Circuit: Players would fall endlessly out of bounds at the intersection area in the final part of the course.

Additional minor gameplay issues were also fixed.

Warp Ring (Item) and Warp Ring Specialist (Gadget)

When using the Warp Ring item, an issue occurred where players could perform major course shortcuts or jump several positions at once. This has been fixed in the current version.

With this fix, the item can now be used more reliably in offline play and Friend Matches. However, because future course additions and online player behavior could still cause unexpected issues, the Warp Ring Item and the Warp Ring Specialist Gadget will not be usable in World Match, Festivals, or Legend Competition.

We sincerely apologize to players who were looking forward to using them. They will remain available for use against CPU opponents and in Friend Matches.

Current Known Issues

• In Ver. 1.3.1, when a player is World Match Legend Rank 1, a Donpa Ticket reward that does not actually exist may appear on the rank gauge. This will be fixed in a future update. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Whew, talk about a big update! As for what’s next, SEGA has also released a teaser for the upcoming Mega Man pack.

The Mega Man Pack arrives for Sonic Racing CrossWorlds on March 25, 2026, and there is a chance that means another update is due out.

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