A while ago, it was leaked that a few unexpected characters would be coming to Sonic Racing CrossWorlds. These were SpongeBob and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who would apparently be included in the game for whatever reason.
What do you MEAN Spongebob and the TMNT are coming to Sonic Crossworlds??
— HibbySloth 🦥🌺 (@hibbysloth.art) 29 May 2025 at 22:06
And now it seems those rumours have been confirmed true. Why? Because earlier today, footage of SpongeBob in-game was posted on the Sonic the Hedgehog subreddit. Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it already:
As you can see, it’s certainly an early version of the character to say the least. He has no unique icon or voice lines; the track still has a placeholder name and some of the game’s textures are incorrect or unfinished. So the footage clearly wasn’t meant for public viewing. Or to be used in any sort of official promotional materials like trailers and commercials.
But it seems legit enough anyway. Which makes us wonder… is this really the best idea for a guest character in a game like this?
Because to us, Sonic and SpongeBob aren’t exactly franchises with a lot of history together. Sure, the former has a cartoon or ten and some of those cartoons have technically aired on Nickelodeon like the latter…
However, the series don’t have a lot in common beyond that. So, to see characters from SpongeBob and other Nick shows appear in a Sonic racing game feels kinda bizarre to us. Like someone’s gunning for social media clicks and meme potential rather than trying to make the most of the franchise they’re actually working on.
Still, it’s not like the Sonic series is that much of a stranger to wacky crossovers here. Even ignoring the Mario & Sonic series and the Sega All-Stars games which functioned more as a general company crossover than a Sonic spinoff, there have been a fair few unexpected choices in past Sonic racing games as well.
Like say, Wreck-It Ralph and the Team Fortress 2 cast in the PC version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Or Banjo and Kazooie in the Xbox version of the game. Or heck, even NASCAR driver Danica Patrick for some reason.
So, there is precedent for some unexpected crossover character choices here. It’s just we didn’t expect it to be Nickelodeon ones like SpongeBob or the TMNT.
Still, what do you think about it? Are you excited for SpongeBob in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds? What other unexpected third-party characters do you expect to see added in future?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
Source:
Here’s a look at SpongeBob SquarePants in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds (My Nintendo News)