Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled breaks speed record on Xbox

Five years after its release, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled returned to the spotlight by achieving a unique feat for the game: becoming the fastest kart title ever to run on an Xbox console, according to a recent technical analysis conducted by fans in the community and confirmed by performance tests.

The milestone was achieved thanks to an optimization update released in June 2025, which improved the game's performance on Xbox Series X|S platforms. The new patch adjusted the framerate to run stably at 120 frames per second (fps) on the Xbox Series X, as well as presenting improvements in latency and loading times.

This change places Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled above other kart games released in the current generation of consoles, including titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which remains capped at 60 fps on the Nintendo Switch, and Disney Speedstorm, which runs at 60 fps on both the Switch and next-gen consoles.

The studio responsible for the adaptation, Beenox, has not yet confirmed if the update will reach other platforms like the PlayStation 5, but the community's expectation is that the patch will be made available for all versions in the future. Currently, the optimization is exclusive to the Xbox Series X.

Originally released in 2019, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a complete remaster of Crash Team Racing, a 1999 classic from the PlayStation One, with redesigned graphics and driving physics that blend arcade and precision. Since its debut, the game has received various post-launch content, including new characters, tracks, and modes.

The speedrunning community has already begun to explore the limits of this new frame rate. According to users on the ResetEra forum, lap times on some tracks have already been reduced by up to 15% with the performance improvement.

At the moment, there is no forecast for new additional content for the game, but Activision has confirmed that they will continue to provide technical support and eventual stability fixes. For those seeking performance and maximum speed in a kart game on the Xbox, this update sets a new standard for Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.