Genki Resurrects Tokyo Xtreme Racer — The Cult Night Highway Racer Returns in 2025

Genki has brought back Tokyo Xtreme Racer in 2025, reviving the Genki Racing Project and releasing the game on PC after an early access period. The title first appeared in early access on Steam in January 2025 and reached its 1.0 update on Thursday, September 25, 2025. It is available now on Windows PC, with a PlayStation 5 release planned for a later date.

1. Revival and history
2. Gameplay basics
3. Progression, cars and characters
4. Presentation and soundtrack
5. Availability and review note
6. Trailer

Revival and history

Genki, the developer behind the original Shutokou Battle series, restarted its Genki Racing Project to bring Tokyo Xtreme Racer back. Historically, the franchise appeared under many names—such as Shutokou Battle, Tokyo Highway Battle, Import Tuner Challenge, Street Supremacy, Highway 2000, and Wangan Dead Heat—and the company produced dozens of related titles between 1994 and 2006. After retiring the racing project and trying a few mobile efforts, Genki went quiet for nearly two decades. Now, the team has returned with a game that continues the series’ core approach rather than transforming it.

Gameplay basics

The game runs exclusively at night and focuses on freeway and flyover races around Tokyo. Races are primarily one-on-one challenges that start when you flash headlights at a rival. When a challenge begins, both cars display health bars; position and lead affect how quickly a rival’s health is reduced, while collisions and contact also chip away at health. Consequently, staying ahead and avoiding walls or heavy contact is central to success.

Routes vary: some outer highways become short, straight-line drags, while the central C1 loop features tunnels, tight bends, and traffic that require precision and split-second decisions. As a result, difficulty depends on where you meet a rival and which route the race uses.

Progression, cars and characters

Tokyo Xtreme Racer combines racing with RPG-like progression. Players earn credits and experience from races to level up, buy cars, and unlock perks in a skill tree. Through progression, players can obtain tuner legends such as the 1998 Nissan Fairlady Z and the 1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno. Customization options include neon underlighting, decals, and wide rims.

The game features dozens of racing teams to hunt down. Players encounter rivals with in-game aliases labeled as B.A.D. Names, including Woodpecker Syndrome, Melancholic Jupiter, Foreign Bookkeeper, and Silent Mongoose. Additionally, players can hang out in parking areas to view rivals’ silhouettes, read brief bios, engage in scripted dialogue, and gather clues to unlock special opponents known as the Wanderers.

Presentation and soundtrack

The visual style deliberately references mid-2000s console-era aesthetics. The game uses grainy, low-light visuals with sodium streetlamps and a skyline of shadowed skyscrapers. The sound design pairs with that look: the soundtrack includes heavy guitar tones, uptempo techno elements, and Hammond-organ-style sounds. Together, these elements create a distinct nocturnal atmosphere centered on highway cruising.

Availability and review note

Tokyo Xtreme Racer released on Windows PC, with a PlayStation 5 version scheduled for release at a later date. The game entered Steam early access in January 2025 and reached full 1.0 status on September 25, 2025. The version described here was played on PC using a purchased copy.

Trailer