SEGA's Crazy Taxi reboot inherits the AAA live-service curse, but it could also be a blessing

One of the most iconic driving games from the Golden Era of Dreamcast is now boarding the live-service train. The upcoming Crazy Taxi reboot is changing gears with its formula by introducing a "massively multiplayer" element. In a recent video interview on SEGA's YouTube handle, the core development team of Crazy Taxi elaborated on this somewhat unexpected pivot for the franchise.

The recruitment board for the game on SEGA's website reads, "It's not just a remake, it's a new title!" This catchy tagline is true in several ways, as multiplayer will not be the only new feature coming to this Crazy Taxi reboot.

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"Massively multiplayer open-world": Crazy Taxi reboot gambit could go either way

Crazy Taxi reboot might have some new power-ups straight out of Mario Kart (Image via SEGA)

During Gamescom last December, SEGA announced five new titles to revive old IPs. All of these are well-established SEGA franchises, including Jet Set Radio and Streets of Rage. Among the five, Crazy Taxi seems exactly the right game to buckle on the live-service bandwagon.

A lot of fan expectations and anticipation will be riding on this Crazy Taxi reboot. It's the first proper mainline game in two decades after Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller (2002). Over this time, the gaming landscape has also terraformed into a different place — and SEGA thinks multiplayer is the right way to traverse it.

A proper AAA-scope open world means a much larger playground out of the gate. Some multiplayer PvP action could be just the right way to add a proportionate amount of mayhem to this now-enlarged playground. The developers haven't explicitly mentioned they'll keep legacy mechanics like Crazy Hop alive, but it should ideally mutate into even more ludicrous elements.

SEGA's video interview from this week does not elaborate on exactly what new fun gimmicks they will add, as the game is still very much a work in progress. There will be the average social mechanics you expect out of a "massively multiplayer" game: in-game communication, partying up, and so on.

The prospects of these multiplayer "gimmicks" are left up to our imagination for now, and it won't take too long to theorize some fun ideas. You could, for example, steal rich customers away from other players in your lobby. Or, if you're at the receiving end of that injustice, you could retaliate by impeding their ride with superior (crazier) driving acumen.

More advanced social mechanics could add factions to the game - it's a 2024 Crazy Taxi reboot, so we don't necessarily have to be a cabbie. We could be a firefighter, or the literal and figurative police of the lobby. The small gameplay segment we have shows a GTA Online-esque chase scene that makes all of these seem possible.

The possibilities are endless - yet the multiplayer pivot is a divisive one.

For one, some fans want just a single-player Crazy Taxi experience juiced up with Unreal Engine's modern West Coast visuals. Cynics are also not sold on a "massively multiplayer" Crazy Taxi due to bad precedents of the ongoing live-service gentrification in AAA gaming - such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Not all fans are happy about Crazy Taxi reboot's MMO aspirations (Image via X)

Will the Crazy Taxi reboot hit the right lane with this, or will it crash? It is too early to say, so cautiously optimistic is the way to drive for now.