It’s no coincidence that Genki recently trademarked the name, as it’s finally returning to the franchise that started three decades ago.

According to the game’s Steam page, “Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a racing game set in a sealed-off future Tokyo, where you compete to be the fastest in your customized cars on the highways that weave through the city. Drive real cars on meticulously recreated tracks, race against powerful rivals, slip through other cars, and engage in mind-blowing battles. This is a series with unparalleled appeal.

In fact, the franchise dates back to 1994. That’s when Shutokō Battle ’94 was released in Japan for the Super Famicom. The series, which ran as Shutokō Battle on “home turf,” received a second installment in 1995 (Shutokō Battle 2 Highway 2000). In 1996, Tokyo Highway Battle was released for the PS1 by THQ in Europe and Jaleco in North America, depending on the region, in 1996 or 1997. The franchise is best known in the West as Tokyo Xtreme Racer.

Shutokō Battle, released on the SEGA Dreamcast in 1999, was known as Tokyo Xtreme Racer in North America and Tokyo Highway Challenge in the EU. The second installment followed the same formula a year later, and the third was released overseas in 2001 as Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero, while the PS2 title was only available here as Tokyo Xtreme Racer. Europe was then left out of Shutokō Battle 01 (Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3) and Kaidō Battle: Nikko, Haruna, Rokko, Hakone (which was localized and released three years later in 2006 as Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift). Then in 2005, America didn’t, we got Kaidō Battle 2: Chain Reaction (a year after its Japanese release, it was called Kaido Racer over here), and in 2005 came Kaidō: Tōge no Densetsu (America: Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 – 2007, Europe: Kaido Racer 2 – 2006), all for PS2.

The last non-mobile title in the franchise (there have been two since then) was released in Japan as Shutokō Battle Ten on July 27, 2006, and in the West as Import Tuner Challenge for Xbox 360 in the fall. This one, however, was brought to us by Ubisoft, not Crave… after that, the new Tokyo Xtreme Racer is coming to PC in 2025.

Source: Gematsu, PRTimes, Steam