Sonic Racing CrossWorlds announcement trailer proves Sega is coming for Mario Kart 9's throne with transforming cars and a closed beta this month

Sega has fully lifted the lid on Sonic Racing CrossWorlds during today's PlayStation State of Play, and in doing so announced a closed network test happening later this month.

In the full announcement trailer, which you can view just below, we can see a roster of classic Sonic the Hedgehog characters zooming around various stages in cars, off-road buggies, hoverboards, and watercrafts, which seem to be able to adapt to different environments and surfaces.

You can also see racers zip through portals leading them to completely different worlds, which suddenly makes the whole CrossWorlds title make a whole lot of sense. PlayStation explains in a new blog that the "Travel Rings" are chosen by the lead racer before each match and force every player to be transported to a different level in the second lap of the race.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds - Announce Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

This isn't the first time we've seen Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, but it is by far our most comprehensive look yet, and it's also the first new trailer since the subtle reveal of Mario Kart 9, CrossWorlds' biggest and most direct competitor.

Neither Mario Kart 9 nor Sonic Racing CrossWorlds have release dates yet, but the latter is getting a closed network test on February 21. You can sign up for that right here, right now if you want to try out the game before launch.

Only time will tell whether Sonic Racing CrossWorlds has the chops to take on Mario Kart in our list of the best racing games to play today.