Sega just confirmed the Year Two roadmap for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and Bayonetta is the first free crossover character, with Godzilla and Evangelion DLCs on deck. It is a good year to be racing as a Sega character. It is a less good year if you play through Year One’s roster in a week and want another kart racer waiting when you close the Steam client.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds does the “beloved character in a kart” pitch better than anyone else on Steam right now, but it is one game, and Year Two updates arrive at Sega’s tempo. Here are seven Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds alternatives for Windows that give you somewhere to go between drops.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Tour (via emulation) | Nintendo fans on PC | Free-to-play | $0 | Constant seasonal cups |
| Trackmania | Skill-driven racing | Free tier | Around $10/year for Club | Millions of user tracks |
| Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 | Chaotic party nights | None | Around $30 | Local four-player split-screen |
| Chocobo GP | Final Fantasy crossovers | Free tier | Around $20 | Ability-driven combat racing |
| Team Sonic Racing | Team-based Sonic play | Steam demo events | Around $20 | Three-car team mechanics |
| F-Zero 99 (Switch Online) | High-speed elimination | Free with subscription | Around $4/month | 99-player anti-grav races |
| Wreckfest | Destruction derby chaos | Steam demo | Around $30 | Vehicle destruction physics |
Why CrossWorlds’ Year Two schedule leaves a gap
CrossWorlds’ free character cadence is one every few weeks between big DLC drops. Steam reviews call out three recurring wants: the base roster’s grind ceilings hit in about 30 hours, the party-game side is thinner than the “kart racer plus fighting game” pitch suggested, and if you want split-screen with three friends over pizza the netcode is your only option. Each alternative below addresses one of those.
The seven alternatives
Mario Kart Tour (via mobile bridge), best for the Nintendo comfort food
Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo’s mobile take on the Mario Kart formula. On desktop the way you play it is through Google Play Games on PC or an Android bridge, and while the emulation route is imperfect, the game itself is the closest anyone has to a free Mario Kart on Windows.
Where it falls short: it is designed for portrait phone play and touch controls. Even on a big screen the UI is small and the courses are shorter than a mainline Mario Kart.
Pricing:
- Free: base game.
- Paid: gacha for characters and karts.
- vs CrossWorlds: free to try, but the gacha economy asks for its money over months.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: cups are ~90 seconds each. Treat it like a phone racer that happens to be on your desktop.
Download: Google Play Games on PC · Publisher site
Bottom line: the fastest jump to Mario Kart-style racing without a Switch.
Trackmania, best for skill ceilings
Trackmania is the yin to CrossWorlds’ yang. No characters, no crossover roster, no combat items. Just a car, a track, and the clock. Nadeo has kept the game alive for two decades because the community keeps building tracks and shaving hundredths of seconds. Weekly campaigns rotate five official tracks; the community publishes thousands more.
Where it falls short: no crossover celebrities, no couch multiplayer, no chaos. If character variety was the CrossWorlds hook for you, this will feel bare.
Pricing:
- Free: Standard access to the base game with a small track library.
- Paid: around $10/year Standard, $30/year Club access for tools and unlimited tracks.
- vs CrossWorlds: dramatically cheaper if you already own a wheel or want a training racer alongside CrossWorlds.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: run this on Tuesday nights, run CrossWorlds when friends are online.
Download: Ubisoft Connect · Publisher site
Bottom line: the “sharpen up between CrossWorlds seasons” pick.
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3, best for four-player couch nights
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 is loud, cartoonish, and shameless about being a party game. Aang, Leonardo, Danny Phantom, and thirty-plus other Nick faces sit on the roster. Four-player split-screen works out of the box and the tracks are wide enough to hide the friend who has never held a controller.
Where it falls short: the physics are floaty and the AI difficulty curve is uneven. Steam reviews are middling for solo play; the game exists for couches.
Pricing:
- Free: none.
- Paid: around $30 base, often under $10 on sale.
- vs CrossWorlds: cheaper on sale, better for local four-player.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: save this for parties. It is not a solo game.
Download: Steam · Epic Games Store
Bottom line: the CrossWorlds alternative for game nights.
Chocobo GP, best for ability-driven combat racing
Chocobo GP takes Final Fantasy characters, mounts them on chocobos and karts, and hands each one a magic system that changes how you attack, defend, and boost. The story mode is a light JRPG bolted onto the racing, and the combat depth is closer to CrossWorlds than anything else on this list.
Where it falls short: its online scene is sparse compared to Mario Kart and CrossWorlds, and the game has faced criticism for its microtransaction structure.
Pricing:
- Free: Chocobo GP Lite with a trimmed roster.
- Paid: around $20 for the full version.
- vs CrossWorlds: cheaper, more RPG-adjacent combat.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: if the item usage in CrossWorlds was your favorite part, this doubles down on it.
Download: Square Enix site · Available via Nintendo Switch and cross-play services
Bottom line: the CrossWorlds alternative for players who care about the item meta.
Team Sonic Racing, best for the Sega die-hards
Team Sonic Racing is CrossWorlds’ predecessor and still worth owning if you missed it. Three-car team play is the twist: you race in trios, share boosts, and swap items. The roster is smaller but the mechanic is unique on this list.
Where it falls short: older game, smaller online population, no crossover characters at all.
Pricing:
- Free: Steam demo events.
- Paid: around $20 base, under $10 on sale.
- vs CrossWorlds: cheaper, tighter roster, more team-focused.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: if you have Sonic-loving friends, this is a better co-op kart racer than the sequel.
Download: Steam · Publisher site
Bottom line: the “you missed this one” recommendation.
F-Zero 99, best for elimination-style racing
F-Zero 99 is Nintendo’s take on Fall Guys applied to F-Zero. Ninety-nine racers, one anti-grav track, and a survival mechanic that keeps thinning the pack. It requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription and technically runs on Switch, not desktop, but you can stream it via NVIDIA Shield or Steam Link to your Windows setup.
Where it falls short: it is not a native Windows game. You either play it on a Switch or you stream it. If neither works for you, skip.
Pricing:
- Free: none directly.
- Paid: about $4/month for Nintendo Switch Online.
- vs CrossWorlds: costs a subscription, but the 99-player format is unmatched.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: treat it as your Friday-night option when CrossWorlds’ online lobbies feel small.
Download: Nintendo Switch Online · Publisher site
Bottom line: the CrossWorlds alternative for pure adrenaline sessions.
Wreckfest, best for destruction-first racing
Wreckfest is the anti-kart racer. It is a demolition derby simulator that also happens to have proper racing, and its physics are why it made this list. Where CrossWorlds’ combat is item-driven, Wreckfest’s combat is you steering a school bus into someone’s front tire.
Where it falls short: no crossover characters, no bright party mood. It is loud, brown, and beer-soaked.
Pricing:
- Free: Steam demo events.
- Paid: around $30 base.
- vs CrossWorlds: same price bracket, entirely different mood.
Migrating from CrossWorlds: if the item combat felt too polite, Wreckfest lets you use the whole car as a weapon.
Download: Steam · Publisher site
Bottom line: the CrossWorlds alternative for players who wanted more damage.
How to choose
- Pick Trackmania if you want to sharpen your driving between CrossWorlds seasons.
- Pick Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 if four-player split-screen is the goal.
- Pick Chocobo GP if character abilities and item meta were your CrossWorlds hook.
- Pick Team Sonic Racing if your friends are Sega loyalists.
- Pick Wreckfest if you wanted more chaos and less politeness.
- Stay on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds while the free character DLCs are still rolling out. There is no reason to jump ship this year if you still have unplayed cups.
FAQ
Is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds free-to-play? No. It is a paid game with free character DLC drops added on top of the base roster.
Are there Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds alternatives with couch co-op on PC? Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 and Team Sonic Racing are the two best split-screen options on Windows. Trackmania supports two-player split-screen on Club servers.
What is the cheapest Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds alternative on desktop? Trackmania’s Standard access is free. Team Sonic Racing and Wreckfest drop under $10 during Steam sales.
Can I play Mario Kart on desktop? Not natively. Mario Kart Tour on Google Play Games for PC is the closest official Windows path. Emulation exists but is legally murky.
Which Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds alternative has the biggest online population? Trackmania. It has the largest, oldest active racing community on Steam.
