Today Genki announced the early access release date of its upcoming arcade racing game Tokyo Extreme Racer.
The game will launch in early access on PC via Steam on January 23, 2025.
A letter from the producer published on X (formerly Twitter) also explains that the developers hope to improve and evolve the game further and provide an even better experience thanks to the feedback gathered during the early access period.
We also hear that over the past 18 years, the gaming environment and technology have evolved significantly, and variety in terms of platforms has increased dramatically, including PC, VR, mobile, and more.
The reason why Genki decided to go with PC via Steam first (likely implying that the game is coming to other platforms at a later date) is because the developers felt it would offer the greatest ease of access for players around the world to enjoy the game, while also allowing the developers to tweak and improve Tokyo Xtreme Racer as quickly as possible.
The producer encourages users to provide feedback and opinions on the game in order to create a new Tokyo Xtreme Racer game together.
Younger gamers may not be familiar with Tokyo Extreme Racer, or Shutoko Battle (Battle on the Expressway) as it’s called in Japan.
The series debuted in 1994 with Shutoko Battle ’94: Drift King for the Super Famicom, and it received basically yearly releases until 2006. After that, the franchise went dormant for 18 years and only two mobile games were created in 2011 and 2017. Obviously, the developers aren’t counting these as mainline entries of the series.
The franchise was released across many platforms including the Super Famicom, the original PlayStation, the Dreamcast, the PlayStation 2, PC, the Gameboy Advance, the PSP, the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3.
The English Tokyo Xtreme Racer title debuted with the localization of the 1999 title Shutoko Battle for Dreamcast.
If you’d like to take a look at the game, you can enjoy a recent gameplay trailer and the reveals of the rivals Bloodhound and Midnight Rose.
