Persona 5 and Hatsune Miku aren't enough – Sega confirms Mario Kart World rival Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will get new characters every month

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might be launching in the shadow of Mario Kart World, but publisher Sega is planning for its own arcade racer to have some long legs with free characters launching every month.

In an interview with Famitsu, series producer Takashi lizuka revealed the team is planning to add one new character to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds each and every month. Iizuka didn't specify when the post-launch plans will conclude, although the upcoming characters are likely to come from Sega's roster.

Iizuka played coy when asked about the possibility of Shenmue's return to kart racing after his small cameo in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Though characters from other Sega series - like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Shin Megami Tensei, Phantasy Star, Puyo Puyo, and Super Monkey Ball - might be good guesses, too.

And in case you missed it, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is digging into the multiverse, as the name may imply. We recently learned that everybody from Persona 5's Joker to Hatsune Miku to Yakuza's Ichiban will be on the list of playable characters, while Minecraft Steve is part of the paid season pass that's promising to add even more, unannounced names from outside of Sega's wheelhouse.

Of course, Sega was mum about the game's purportedly leaked DLC from a few weeks ago that mentioned SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be joining Minecraft Steve in the season pass. So, take that how you like.

I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer