Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is built from the ground up and remasters the original Crash racing game by bringing the characters, karts, tracks and arenas to modern console HD graphics. Fans will be able to see Crash and friends’ expressions and antics in beautiful detail as they blast each other with power-ups and whiz around the corners in all the original racetracks.

The stakes are high and the competition is fierce as players race with a variety of Crash Bandicoot series characters, including Crash, Coco, Dr. Neo Cortex and others against the egomaniacal Nitros Oxide to save our planet from destruction. In the new game, Adventure, Arcade Single Race and Cup Race, Time Trials and Battle Mode are back.

Play Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled single player or vs. friends both online and offline.

Activision announces that the new game will feature remastered content from the original Crash Nitro Kart (CNK) when it launches.

The bonus CNK content will include all thirteen of the game’s tracks which have been adapted to match the original CTR experience. Additionally, remastered karts, battle arenas and battle modes from the original CNK will be included in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and can be played in stunning HD glory.

To celebrate, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will be playable at PAX East in Boston (March 28-31). Show attendees can check out the Sony booth #16031 to be among the first in the world to get hands on time with the new game. At the show, fans will have a BandiHOOT racing against each other on two fan-favorite Crash Team Racing tracks: Papu’s Pyramid and Sewer Speedway and two remastered Crash Nitro Kart tracks: Clockwork Wumpa and Electron Avenue. Fans can also snag super cool swag while supplies last and take part in a victory podium photo op.

“Since the very beginning, we’ve said we’re giving fans a whole lot more in Crash™ Team Racing Nitro-Fueled,” said Thomas Wilson, co-studio head at Beenox. “As fans, we know the important role that Crash Nitro Kart plays in the Crash franchise among the community, so we’re thrilled to be remastering the tracks, karts and even the battle modes to give players an awesome Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled experience.”

Activision and Sony announced that PS4 players can re-live the ‘90s with retro Crash, Coco, and Cortex character skins, their retro karts, and a soon-to-be revealed retro track. Also, PlayStation players who pre-order will receive an exclusive PlayStation-themed sticker pack to deck out their karts in-game. 

It is one thing to upscale the graphical fidelity of characters from Crash Team Racing but it is another to proactively downscale their polygon count and texture resolution to recreate the visual constraints of the late ‘90s. Gone are the fur shader and the 1024 x 1024 textures. Instead, they are purposely replaced by a faceted visual treatment with no smoothing groups and 64×64 textures. Some going as low as 32×32 pixels! Can you imagine? We’ve come a long way since 1999!

In order to craft the retro skins, we gathered references from the original Crash Bandicoot Trilogy and the original CTR to define the level of details we wanted to achieve. We decided to lean into the models in the original CTR’s character selection screen since they provided a little more personality than the racing models, and we felt they would translate well to the modern-day version of the game. Once each reference sheet was created, the artists jumped right in and worked their old school magic to create the retro models. Then, once the models were finalized, we validated they would react appropriately with their updated animation rig from their next-gen counterpart. A big priority was making sure they retained their charm from back in the day.

The PS4 exclusive items, including the themed sticker packs will be available at launch.

Players who want to kick their Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled into the highest gear can pre-order the Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Nitros Oxide Edition. In the digital deluxe edition, the self-proclaimed fastest racer in the galaxy, Nitros Oxide will be a playable character from day one in all game modes. Players will also receive the full Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled game, Oxide’s Hovercraft kart, space-themed character skins for Crash, Coco, Cortex, and much more. Players who do not purchase the Nitros Oxide Edition can earn the Nitros Oxide character and Oxide’s Hovercraft kart by completing some of the fiercest challenges in the Adventure Mode.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and the Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Nitros Oxide Edition are available for pre-order starting today. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Nitros Oxide Edition will be available for the suggested retail price of $59.99.

Get ready to start your engines as Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will be available for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One on June 21st, 2019.