Amigo Now Available in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as Final Free Racer of Year One

Players are being split between Team Amigo, Team Amiga and Team Linda for the limited-time competition, which runs through September 13 at 7:59 PM ET. The Japanese event schedule ends at the equivalent time of September 14 at 8:59 AM JST. The wider Festival format remains the same as previously announced, with players earning Festival Points through online races and working toward rewards for themselves and their team.

One of those rewards has now been identified as the 4th Stage Charge Kit, a Festival Gadget that activates the effects of both Ultimate Charge and Lv4 Quick Charge at the same time.

That makes the reward considerably more specific than the initial Festival announcement, which only confirmed that players would be able to earn Gadgets alongside decals, horns and other customization items. The 4th Stage Charge Kit effectively packages two existing charge-related effects into a single Festival reward.

As SEGA previously noted, Gadgets distributed through Festivals may be made available again through future updates, so missing the Samba de Amigo event does not necessarily mean the Kit will remain unobtainable permanently. The company has not announced when or how it might return.

The Samba de Amigo Festival is available now through September 13 at 7:59 PM ET, giving players the rest of the weekend to race for Team Amigo, Amiga or Linda and pick up the new reward.

SEGA began distributing the free Samba de Amigo Content Drop on September 8 in western regions and September 9 in Japan. The update is available to owners of both the Standard and Digital Deluxe editions once the game has been updated to its latest version.

Amigo’s free content includes the racer himself, an Amigo (Classic) skin complete with his signature sombrero, and his Locomotive de Amigo machine.

Three songs from Samba de Amigo have also been added to the Jukebox:

• VAMOS A CARNAVAL – 2023 Ver.
• VAMOS A CARNAVAL – 2023 Ver. (Final Lap)
• Let’s find and shake it

The first two can be used as race music. Let’s find and shake it is available through the Jukebox only.

SEGA’s latest material also confirms that Amigo is the 12th and final free racer of CrossWorlds’ first year, closing out the free-character lineup announced during Year One. That wording still says nothing about whether another batch of free racers is planned for Year Two.

Amigo’s arrival will be followed by the Samba de Amigo Festival, beginning September 10 at 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT and ending September 13 at 7:59 PM EDT / 4:59 PM PDT. In Japan, the same event runs from September 11 at 9:00 AM JST through September 14 at 8:59 AM JST.

The Festival splits players into three teams for online races where they compete for the highest combined score. Special rules will change between Festivals, with SEGA giving the number of Touch Dashes performed as one example of a team objective.

Festival Points earned during the event unlock special rewards, including decals, horns, Gadgets and other items for customizing machines.

SEGA notes that Gadgets earned through the Festival may be distributed again in future updates, while other Festival rewards may also become available through different methods later.

A new trailer has been released alongside the update, showing Amigo and his content in action:

Amigo is available now, while the Samba de Amigo Festival begins September 10 in North America and September 11 in Japan.

In its latest announcement, the official CrossWorlds account describes Amigo as the “12th and FINAL free character of Year One.” That’s broader than what we knew when his September 8 release date was announced last week. At the time, Amigo was simply the final racer still waiting to arrive from the batch SEGA announced in June.

Amigo is the 12th and final free character being released during Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ first year.

His arrival also brings the previously announced Locomotive de Amigo, along with special emotes and sounds based on Samba de Amigo.

And his Festival is right behind him. The Samba de Amigo Festival begins September 10 at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT and runs through September 13 at 7:59 PM ET / 4:59 PM PT. SEGA’s newest schedule therefore extends one day beyond the September 12 end date given in our original article, so we’ve corrected that below.

During the event, players will compete for Festival Points and can unlock decals, Gadgets and other rewards.

SEGA’s wording only closes the book on Year One’s free racers. It does not tell us whether free character additions will continue during Year Two. We already know another year of CrossWorlds content is planned, including the previously announced Godzilla and Evangelion DLC packs, but SEGA has not announced a Year Two free-racer schedule.

For now, Amigo gets the last dance of Year One.

Stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds News and Updates!

SEGA has confirmed that Samba de Amigo star Amigo will join Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on September 8, firming up the September release window originally announced back in June.

The free addition will bring Amigo to the playable roster alongside his previously revealed Locomotive de Amigo, a special machine inspired by the Samba de Amigo series.

Two days after his arrival, SEGA will kick off a dedicated Samba de Amigo Festival, running from September 10 at 5:00 PM PT through September 13 at 4:59 PM PT. As with the other CrossWorlds Festivals, players will be able to jump into the limited-time team competition during the event window.

Amigo’s release follows Axel from Crazy Taxi, who joined CrossWorlds as another free SEGA guest racer on August 26 before receiving his own Crazy Taxi Festival later that week. Sonic City covered Axel’s launch and accompanying content when SEGA revealed his final release details.

The newly released September event calendar also gives players a couple of other dates to keep an eye on.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will celebrate its first anniversary on September 25, although SEGA has not yet revealed exactly what it has planned for the occasion. The calendar simply highlights the anniversary and tells players to stay tuned for more.

It also confirms that the Hatsune Miku 2nd Festival is scheduled for early October, giving Miku another dedicated event following her previous collaboration content. No exact dates have been announced for the second Festival yet.

Amigo was first announced for CrossWorlds on June 24 as part of a new wave of free racers celebrating SEGA’s wider history.

At the time, SEGA released Ver.1.4.1, adding Classic Sonic and his Mach Cyclone immediately while announcing that Axel from Crazy Taxi would follow in August and Amigo from Samba de Amigo in September. Each guest was also confirmed to receive a special machine themed around their original series.

Classic Sonic’s arrival formed part of Sonic’s 35th anniversary celebrations, with the update also introducing eight new Gadgets, balance changes, additional Jukebox music and other additions.

The June announcement revealed Amigo’s Locomotive de Amigo alongside Axel’s Devolada Yellow Jack, but stopped short of giving either guest an exact launch date.

Axel’s August release has since come and gone, leaving Amigo as the final racer from that particular free-character announcement still waiting to take his place on the starting grid.

Now we know the wait ends next week.

Amigo made his debut in the original Samba de Amigo arcade game in 1999 before becoming one of SEGA’s most recognizable rhythm-game characters, shaking his maracas in time with the music across the original Dreamcast release, Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000, the Wii revival and 2023’s Samba de Amigo: Party Central.

His addition continues CrossWorlds’ increasingly broad celebration of SEGA history, which has already brought characters, machines and music from franchises well outside Sonic’s usual orbit into the racer.

And given that his own series is built around maracas, dancing and turning practically everything into a party, a dedicated Festival feels about as appropriate as it gets.

Amigo joins Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as a free addition on September 8, with the Samba de Amigo Festival running September 10 at 5:00 PM PT through September 13 at 4:59 PM PDT / 7:59 PM EDT.

The game’s first anniversary follows on September 25, before the Hatsune Miku 2nd Festival arrives in early October.

Stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds News and Updates!