Crash Team Racing is a 1999 racing video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is part of the Crash Bandicoot series, and the final Crash Bandicoot game to be developed by original developer Naughty Dog.
Crash Bandicoot follows the adventures of the title character, a genetically-enhanced eastern barred bandicoot created by the evil Doctor Neo Cortex. In Crash Team Racing, Crash and his allies must participate in a sequence of races to stop the egomaniacal Nitros Oxide from destroying the world. Unlike previous titles which were platform adventure games, Crash Team Racing focuses on racing through various tracks against other characters. Players can pick between fifteen characters as their driver, and obtain various power ups for speed or offense throughout the race. A key mechanic is the power slide, which allows players to fill their boost meter.
Development began in early 1999 and lasted only eight months with a budget of $2.4 million, the highest for a Crash game at the time. It was the final game Naughty Dog worked on within the Crash Bandicoot franchise before moving unto Jak and Daxter, and Sony's second-to-last Crash title before their contract with Universal Interactive ended. It is also notably the first Naughty Dog game involving Bruce Straley, who would serve as game director on several titles from the studio.
Crash Team Racing was critically acclaimed on release, with critics praising the game's controls, visuals and multiplayer mode, though several publications agreed that the game failed to innovate the genre and cited the audio as a notable issue. The game was commercially successful, selling over 2 million copies.