NAOMI ports in Yakuza Kiwami 3, Power Smash online gameplay restored, SEGAbits.com viewable on the Dreamcast? Truly 2026 is the year of the Dreamcast revival. Let’s run through the past week’s news!
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When you can’t focus on the main story because of all the side games stealing your attention
Today, Sega and RGG Studio have detailed a bunch of side games in the upcoming Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties. Here, they’ve talked about beloved returning games such as karaoke and Reaper hunting and brand new stuff such as retro Sega games, substories, the Kanda’s Damage Control side missions in Dark Ties (Mine’s Story), and LaLaLa Loveland in Yakuza Kiwami 3 (Kiryu’s Story).
Clear out your afternoon, warm up your vocal pipes, gather up as many AA batteries as you can, and step on past the break to find out what awaits you during any downtime you have in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, which releases worldwide next month.
Sonic the Hedgehog, one of the most iconic and beloved brands in the industry, is thrilled to announce its 35th anniversary this year! Since his debut in 1991, Sonic has defined generations with his signature speed, attitude, and style, expanding far beyond his innovative video game origins into new characters and worlds, blockbuster films, animated television, music, merchandise, and more. To commence the festivities, SEGA released a new anniversary trailer to build hype and rewind through Sonic’s best moments over the last 35 years.
Throughout the upcoming year, SEGA will roll out a high-energy slate of anniversary programs designed to celebrate Sonic’s legacy while bringing fans together around the world. Planned activities include digital content highlighting Sonic’s evolution across the decades, fan meet-ups and community gatherings, exclusive brand and retail partnerships featuring limited merchandise, museum pop-ups and art exhibits, live concert celebrations, and a brand-new narrative podcast.
“We’re incredibly proud to celebrate 35 years of our beloved Sonic franchise with our fans,” said Marcella Churchill, Vice President of SEGA/ATLUS Brand Marketing at SEGA of America. “This milestone is not just a reflection of our past, but also a look toward the future as we continue to innovate and grow. We want to bring our community together and create memorable experiences for all our fans throughout 2026!”
Additional 35th anniversary-inspired content, partnerships, collectibles, and fan experiences will be revealed throughout the year. Head to the official Sonic the Hedgehog 35th Anniversary website for the latest news, updates, and media surrounding the year’s programs.
What are some announcements are you looking forward to during Sonic’s 35th Anniversary? Let us know in the comments!
The wait to own a physical copy of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds for Nintendo Switch 2, one that actually has the game on the card, is nearly over. Mark March 26th, 2026 on your calendars.
While Sonic Racing: Crossworlds had already been available as a native Nintendo Switch 2 game, complete with an upgrade pack for owners of the original Nintendo Switch version, since December 2025, it was only available digitally. (You can still buy the upgrade pack if you had a physical Nintendo Switch 1 version.) If you’ve been waiting for a native Nintendo Switch 2 game card, then pre-orders have just opened up for it. The pre-order price sits at $69.99 USD. Currently, only Amazon has a pre-order page open, but other retailers are sure to follow soon. You can check Sega’s own Sonic Racing: Crossworlds website for the most up to date information on where you can pre-order or where you can order any other version of the game.
As an added bonus, Sega have also made the Blue Star Extreme Gear DLC available for free on all platforms. (Currently it isn’t live on the Nintendo eShop, but this could be an error. Keep checking for it.) Originally available exclusively for those who signed up for a Sega account and redeemed it when the game originally launched in September, the Blue Star is an extra boost vehicle that’s based on Sonic’s Extreme Gear from Sonic Riders (2006). If you never signed up for a Sega account, you forgot to redeem the Blue Star DLC, or you’ve since bought Sonic Racing: Crossworlds on a second platform or a different platform than you originally intended, you can still get this absolutely free now.
Be sure to cross over past the break to see a bit more info on the physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition that you might like to know.
SEGA officially released the PAC-MAN™ Pack for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds! Players can now race as video game icon PAC-MAN and Team Ghost on a track inspired by both modern and classic arcade-era PAC-MAN games. The PAC-MAN Pack includes the following:
PAC-MAN and Blinky as playable characters
Additional skins for Team Ghost: Inky, Pinky, and Clyde
PAC-MAN Mobile
PAC-VILLAGE & MAZE
Official PAC-MAN Music Tracks
Six different emotes per character
Players who own the Digital Deluxe Edition will automatically receive the PAC-MAN Pack as part of the Season Pass. For those who want to take part in the PAC-MAN action, the entire Season Pass is separately available for $29.99 USD, which includes access to even more exciting characters, vehicles, and courses. Players can also purchase the standalone PAC-MAN Pack for $5.99 USD.
Players who do not own the PAC-MAN Pack will still be able to compete online against those who do and will be able to race on the PAC-MAN course against the PAC-MAN characters.
It’s a sad day for all of us Sega fans. One of the most important people in the entire history of Sega has finally left this mortal coil.
David Rosen, the founder of Rosen Enterprises, which would later become the company we all know and love today as Sega, has passed away on December 25th, 2025 at the age of 95 in his Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles home. His funeral was held on January 2nd, 2026 at Inglewood Park Cemetary. News of his passing only just became public on January 2nd courtesy of Replay Magazine.
Very few people in the history of Sega are more worthy of being celebrated than David Rosen. He alone began the chain of events that led to the creation of Sega, and by extension, many of the games they had brought to the world that touched our hearts for decades. Whether it’s Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS, OutRun, Phantasy Star, Shenmue, Like A Dragon, or countless other examples, Mr. Rosen allowed for all of that to eventually be possible.
But it’s not just Sega fans who have plentiful reason to celebrate this man’s life. Part of why Mr. Rosen founded Rosen Enterprises in the first place is because he saw great potential in the coin-op market in post-war Japan. His company was first made to help import coin-op games, which we know now as arcade games, to Japan. This eventually led to Sega making arcade games of their own, but the entire arcade industry owes a major debt of gratitude to Mr. Rosen for that.
If you’d like to hear more about the prestigious spot Mr. Rosen holds in video game history, you can hear more past the break. For now, though, on behalf of SegaBits and Sega/gaming fans around the globe, we salute the amazing David Rosen and thank him for his services to gaming. We are glad he lived such a long, fulfilling life and that he may now rest in peace. Many condolences go out to his surviving family and friends as well.
EDIT: I’ve edited my write-up on Sega following the Gulf+Western buyout to clear up some false information. My apologies for that.
Today, SEGA announced the free NiGHTS content for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be available for players starting Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 4:00 PM PT! Players will be able to race alongside Sonic and friends as the beloved Nightmaren, NiGHTS! The free NiGHTS Content Drop includes the following:
NiGHTS as a playable character
NiGHTS’ vehicle, Dream Sleeper
Special emotes and sounds
Players who own either the Standard (physical or digital) or Digital Deluxe versions of the game will automatically receive the free NiGHTS Content Drop. Please ensure that the game is updated to the latest version for the content to be downloaded properly.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available now both digitally and physically on PlayStation®5 (PS5®), PlayStation®4 (PS4®), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC starting at $69.99 USD and on Nintendo Switch™, Nintendo Switch™- OLED Model, and Nintendo Switch™ Lite starting at $59.99 USD. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is also available digitally for players at $69.99 USD.
SEGA and Rovio are turning up the chaos in Sonic Rumble, unleashing an event of colossal proportions as Godzilla stomps into the arcade royale mayhem. The King of Monsters brings a new level of epic intensity to the game as Sonic’s iconic speed collides with the legendary power of the Kaiju.
Starting December 22, Rumblers can take part in a limited-time event, featuring exciting challenges and special Godzilla-themed rewards.
Highlights of the event include:
New Stage: Godzilla Survival – Survive Godzilla’s rampage on up to three boats in the middle of the ocean, while avoiding Godzilla’s devastating Heat Ray and the lurking Shockirus.
Unlockable Kaiju & Skills – Unlock legendary monsters with a free and premium pass, and look for Mechagodzilla and Destoroyah, featuring special skills, in the RSR shop.
Check out the official Sonic Rumble blog post HERE to learn more about the collaboration. Players can download Sonic Rumble on the App Store, Google Play and Steam today.
If you checked out The Game Awards for updates on the new Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage or Sonic games you probably felt pretty empty after the show wrapped. Still, SEGA had one reveal by way of Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. The game itself looks technically impressive, and zooming in from a space battle to a ground battle was very cool both on a gameplay and technical level.
Explore SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance with two exclusive Steam bundles that pair the iconic ninja game with a reimagined classic SEGA brand developed by Lizardcube, known for creating high-quality 2D games.
Pick up SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance alongside Streets of Rage 4 or Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap in two new bundles. Enjoy the beautiful art and amazing 2D action that await you!
Wield the blade, ready your fist, and slay the dragon with links to these sweet bundles below!
Today, during Sony’s State of Play in Japan, SEGA released a new trailer giving fans a deeper look into the highly anticipated Season Pass content coming to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds in the coming months.
Players can look forward to racing as familiar characters both from the SEGA universe and beyond including SpongeBob SquarePants, NiGHTS, Tangle and Whisper from the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, and AiAi from Super Monkey Ball.
Starting next week, fans can compete for first place as SpongeBob and Patrick through a Bikini Bottom themed course! Check out the SpongeBob content in the new trailer here.
Please see below for more details on the upcoming Season Pass content below.
Sonic Racing Crossworlds fans on Nintendo’s ecosystem rejoice. The long awaited Nintendo Switch 2 port of the game finally has a release date: December 4th, 2025.
The game will finally launch for Nintendo’s newest hybrid console digitally first on that date. Physical versions (Which will not be installed on one of the dreaded Game Key-Cards) will come sometime in early 2026. If you have the game on Nintendo Switch already, a $10 upgrade pack will be available to convert your game to the native Switch 2 port, giving you sharper graphics and higher resolutions and framerates not possible in the Switch 1 version even when playing it on a Switch 2 console. Even better, the upgrade pack will be available for 50% off until December 10th.
For fans of Sonic’s Werehog form, you’ll receive the Werehog character DLC, originally a pre-order bonus for all other versions of the game, if you purchase a Day 1 edition of the Switch 2 version’s physical release. If you already have any DLC from the Switch 1 version, including the Werehog, it will remain accessible in the Switch 2 version after upgrading, along with any saved progress you’ve made.
Do you already own Sonic Racing Crossworlds on Switch or any other platform? Were you holding out for the Switch 2 version? Let us know in the comments below.
Today, SEGA officially released the free Ichiban Kasuga content for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds! Players can now compete for first place as Ichiban Kasuga, the Hero of Yokohama! The free Ichiban Content Drop includes the following:
Ichiban as a playable character
Ichiban’s vehicle, the Dragon Brave
Special emotes and sounds
Players who own either the Standard (physical or digital) or Digital Deluxe versions of the game will automatically receive the free Ichiban Content Drop. Please ensure that the game is updated to the latest version for the content to be downloaded properly.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is available now both digitally and physically on PlayStation®5 (PS5®), PlayStation®4 (PS4®), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC starting at $69.99 USD and on Nintendo Switch™, Nintendo Switch™- OLED Model, and Nintendo Switch™ Lite starting at $59.99 USD.
Sonic Rumble has officially launched worldwide, inviting players to dive into the exhilarating party royale mayhem. Players can now step into Dr. Eggman’s twisted fantasy world where players control toy figures of beloved Sonic the Hedgehog characters.
These miniature heroes and villains are battling it out in a series of treacherous obstacle courses and competitive arenas to see who can collect the most Rings and prove they are number one in the ultimate toybox showdown.
People everywhere can now join the global Sonic Rumble community of over 10 million early ‘Rumblers’ who pre-registered, pre-ordered, wishlisted or downloaded Sonic Rumble in the pre-launch period.
Check out the full press release for Sonic Rumble in the next section of the article!
Attention Persona and ATLUS fans! For the first time ever, SEGA is thrilled to share new details about the highly anticipated musical event that will unite fans of the acclaimed Persona series: Persona Live 2026: Awakenings.
Persona Live 2026: Awakenings is the first U.S. show of the Persona Music Experience series, which includes the full cast from Japan, set to debut at the iconic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on Saturday, January 24, 2026. The day will include two shows, and the performance will feature live performances by fan-favorite artists including:
Lyn Inaizumi: Singer of Persona 5 series
Azumi Takahashi: Singer of Persona 3 Reload
Lotus Juice: Rapper and vocalist of Persona 3 & Persona 3 Reload
Toshiki Konishi: Composer and guitarist from the Atlus Sound Team
Following the success of the Persona Live Tour across Asia, which excited audiences with its high-energy performances and talent, the 2026 Los Angeles shows are eagerly awaited by U.S. fans excited to experience the magic firsthand. These shows give fans the chance to enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience with the music and talent that defined the Persona game franchise.
Key Information:
When: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Where: Dolby Theater, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
Ticket Sales:
Pre-Sale: Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 10 AM PT
Public On-Sale: Friday, November 7, 2025 at 10 AM PT
