SEGA announced back in 2021 that it had a five-year plan in order to develop what it termed a "Super Game." While it was initially assumed that this project would be working on one title supporting the publisher's classic franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, it was confirmed earlier this month that the "Super Game" was actually a series of upcoming AAA titles from SEGA. According to SEGA's information on its upcoming games, they will follow a model set by Fortnite and Roblox, allowing for an online community and play extended by consistent updates.
Now, it seems fans may have some confirmation on the first major titles SEGA is working on as part of its "Super Game" project. According to a recent report, SEGA is currently developing a reboot of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio. There isn't much information on the development of the new Jet Set Radio, however, Crazy Taxi is reportedly a year into its development, with a few years still to go. It now makes much more sense as to why SEGA distanced itself from Taxi Chaos, a game like Crazy Taxi, some months ago, as it was working on its own wacky driving game.
Jet Set Radio hasn't had a new game in 20 years but has still managed to have an influence over the gaming industry as many developers have cited it as an influence for games such as Sunset Overdrive. Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi both mark as some of SEGA's most recognizable properties outside of Sonic The Hedgehog, so it makes sense that these would be the first two games announced as part of the "Super Game" project.
Even with the announcement of these games, it seems that SEGA isn't promising its fans that these titles will arrive at some point in the future. As Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi's reboots were revealed, the gaming giant also stated that both of these new games were early in their development stages, and could still be canceled. While SEGA may be trying to calm fans' hype with this disclaimer, many are still going to get excited about a new Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi, especially with original composer Hideki Nagnuma returning to work on the former.
As stated, both Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi's new entries are said to follow a similar business model to popular live-service games like Fortnite. It seems that SEGA is also following a line of thinking similar to that of PlayStation's CEO Jim Ryan, who has said that live-service titles are the future, rather than subscription services. How Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi will build online communities is unknown and any information on that is likely years away.
Source: Bloomberg