Crash Tag Team Racing, known in Japan as Crash Bandicoot Gacchanko World (クラッシュ・バンディクー がっちゃんこワールド Kurasshu bandikū ga~tsu chanko wārudo), is a racing video game published by Sierra Entertainment internationally and Vivendi Universal Games in Japan and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation Portable. The Xbox version is not compatible with Xbox 360s. The game was released in North America on October 19, 2005, in Europe on November 4, 2005 and in Japan on December 1, 2005. The PlayStation 2 version was re-released in the three-disc "Crash Bandicoot Action Pack" compilation (alongside Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Twinsanity) in the United States on June 12, 2007 and in Europe on July 20, 2007.
Crash Tag Team Racing is the twelfth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series, as well as the third racing game, following Crash Nitro Kart, which was an indirect sequel to Crash Team Racing. It is the first Crash game to have a rating higher than E in North America or a 3+ in Europe, due to the game featuring "cartoon violence and crude humor". It is also the third Crash Bandicoot title in the racing genre, the first and second titles being Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, respectively. The game's story centers on the exploits of the protagonist, Crash Bandicoot, who must win the ownership of a dilapidated theme park by finding its missing Power Gems before his nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex, can.