Crazy Taxi: City Rush is Sega’s take on Temple Run

Sega wants in on that billions of dollars of free-to-play money, and it’s turning to one of its classic arcade franchises to make that happen.

The publisher revealed Crazy Taxi: City Rush today, which is its upcoming free-to-play cab-driving title for iOS and Android. You zoom through city streets collecting fares and avoiding obstacles. Unlike previous entries in the series, you won’t have direct control over the vehicle. Instead, City Rush uses swipe gestures to change lanes and make turns similar to the mobile endless-running title Temple Run. Games on iOS and Android generated $16 billion in 2013, and free-to-play was a huge part of that.

Sega plans to launch City Rush in limited regions soon. A global release will follow later this year. We’ve reached out to the publisher to ask how it plans to generate revenue and will update this story when we get a response.

“We are delivering a truly fun game that captures everything our fans love about the original and infusing it with several new features to create an even more fantastic and memorable experience,” Crazy Taxi creator Kenji Kanno said in a statement.

Sega first released the original arcade version of Crazy Taxi in 1999. It is an open-world driving game that had players picking up fares and driving dangerously around town and over jumps to get the people to their destination on time. That version is available on mobile now. To promote City Rush, the company is actually giving away the original game.

“Creating a new game for our Crazy Taxi fans is extremely rewarding,” Sega Networks senior vice president Chris Olson said. “City Rush embodies the spirit of Crazy Taxi with its signature frantic arcade action and crazy stunts and also delivers a new mobile experience with easy one touch controls and social features.”