Players of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds are voicing frustration and accusing Sega of breaking its promises regarding the game's Deluxe Edition. Fans who paid $100 for the premium version expected it to include all future paid downloadable content, but recent announcements of new paid expansions for the game's second year of post-launch support have left them feeling misled.
Sega recently unveiled its year two DLC roadmap, which commences on November 3 and includes crossovers with Godzilla, Evangelion, Virtual Sanrio Puroland, Segaland, Midgar Pack, and Reload Revival Royal. These packs are slated to add new stages and character skins, with the entire bundle priced at $40. The prospect of characters like Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII racing against Sonic and SpongeBob has generated excitement, but the cost has ignited backlash from players who believed their Deluxe Edition purchase already covered such content.
The controversy stems from a pre-launch tweet from Sega promoting the Digital Deluxe Edition of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. The post stated, "This edition includes: Base Game, Season Pass, All future paid downloadable content, Bonus Sonic Prime characters." The phrase "all future paid downloadable content" is at the heart of the dispute, with players interpreting it to mean all expansions, not just those released within the first year.
"Paid $100 for this shit, guess I learned my lesson," one player expressed on Reddit, reflecting a sentiment shared by many. Another fan noted on the PS5 subreddit that the game launched with only Sonic characters and no crossover content, lamenting that such additions were subsequently locked behind paywalls. Some players feel that an increasing number of crossover characters and stages were deliberately held back for paid DLC from the outset.
This situation echoes a trend seen in some online games, particularly fighting games, where content initially presented as part of a comprehensive package is later released as separate, paid expansions. The exact release timing for the Final Fantasy VII content remains unconfirmed, but other DLC packs are scheduled to arrive over the next year, with individual packs typically costing around $6. It remains to be seen if Sega will offer any form of compensation or clarification to address player concerns.