Subway Surfers x Crossy Road crossover event between Subway Surfers and Crossy Road was announced on March 27, 2025, and rolled out on March 31, combining the universes of the two games over a three-week period.
This is the first-ever crossover for Subway Surfers, which has been downloaded more than 4 billion times since its release in 2012. Created by SYBO and Hipster Whale, the event marks the cross-cultural influence of these two games.
As Mathias Gredal Nørvig, SYBO CEO, says, this partnership is a respect for Crossy Road as one of the genre-defining mobile games of its time. Clara Reeves, Hipster Whale CEO, shared this opinion, highlighting how both games have brought joy to overlapping audiences worldwide.
Players in Subway Surfers can take part in the “Crossy Road Challenge,” which adds a pixelated world reminiscent of Crossy Road. It features traditional blue trains and other obstacles that remind one of Crossy Road’s gameplay.
Players can earn exclusive crossover characters such as Chicken Jake and Mallard Tricky through completing challenges. The event also adds new gameplay features, such as time extension by running through special objectives.
Crossy Road adds a new world based on Subway Surfers. Players get to explore this world using characters such as Jake and Tricky from Subway Surfers.
Jetpack rides and magnet power-ups are familiar mechanics that are incorporated into the gameplay. Players earn Subway Tokens during their run, which they can use to redeem Subway Surfers-themed characters and cosmetics.
This crossover is relevant as it combines two approaches to gaming: the endless running mechanism of Subway Surfers and arcade-style hop-like gameplay found in Crossy Road.
Each of these two titles has come to define the mobile gaming sphere in terms of color, infectious mechanisms, and popularity.
Top 5 Things to Know About the Subway Surfers x Crossy Road Event
1. First-Ever Collaboration for Subway Surfers
The Subway Surfers x Crossy Road event represents a record-breaking milestone as the very first crossover ever in Subway Surfers’ 13-year history.
SYBO, the owners of Subway Surfers, made the announcement on March 27, 2025. They collaborated with Hipster Whale, the owners of Crossy Road.
The event started on March 31, 2025, and will last for three weeks. It combines two of the most recognizable mobile gaming worlds.
SYBO CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig pointed out the importance of this partnership by pointing out how both games have influenced mobile gaming culture over the last decade.
He added that Subway Surfers has always looked up to Crossy Road for its creative gameplay. Hipster Whale CEO Clara Reeves concurred with these observations, saying that the crossover had awaited by fans and is a celebration of shared audiences and styles.
Both companies collaborated very closely to integrate their respective mechanics into each other’s game in a manner appealing to their international player bases.
The crossover adds themed challenges, special characters, and new gameplay mechanics to each of the two games. In Subway Surfers, players can compete in the Crossy Road Challenge in a pixelated world in the style of Crossy Road, including classic blue trains and other obstacles.
In turn, Crossy Road players can play in a Subway Surfers-themed world with similar mechanics such as jetpacks and magnets.
Subway Surfers also offers limited-character figures like Chicken Jake and Mallard Tricky, while Crossy Road has Jake and Tricky, and both games include Subway Tokens to redeem for exclusive prizes.
2. Exclusive Crossover Characters
One of the highlights of the Subway Surfers x Crossy Road event is the release of limited-time exclusive crossover characters, which can be availed for three weeks from March 31, 2025.
Subway Surfers allows players to get two unique crossover characters: Chicken Jake and Mallard Tricky. These are based on the pixelated theme of Crossy Road, combined with the colorful style of Subway Surfers.
Chicken Jake is a re-vamped Jake, the Subway Surfer protagonist, but with a chicken theme to match the offbeat sense of humor that Crossy Road is known for. In the same vein, Mallard Tricky re-invents Tricky as a pixel duck to honor one of the best-known characters in Crossy Road, the mallard.
These characters can be unlocked by successful completion of challenges in the new Crossy Road Challenge in Subway Surfers.
The players have to play through a pixelated level with Crossy Road-themed hazards, including retro blue trains and other obstacles. Successful completion of these challenges not only unlocks these special characters but also improves gameplay by increasing run time and giving more rewards.
Crossy Road adds Subway Surfers-themed characters to unlock for players. Beloved characters such as Jake and Tricky from Subway Surfers become part of the retro-themed universe of Crossy Road.
Players can play as these characters in a brand new Subway Surfers-themed universe in Crossy Road. This world uses familiar mechanics from Subway Surfers, including jetpacks and magnet power-ups.
To unlock these characters in Crossy Road, the characters have to be earned by collecting Subway Tokens while running. These tokens are exchangeable for event-specific rewards, such as new characters and cosmetics inspired by the Subway Surfers world.
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3. Themed Gameplay Mechanics
Players can join the Crossy Road Challenge in Subway Surfers, which recasts the customary endless runner setting into a pixel world reminiscent of Crossy Road. These consist of:
- Pixel Trains: Adopted from Crossy Road, these are trains that function as obstacles in Subway Surfers. They’re pixelated to provide a nostalgic look in an otherwise colorful Subway Surfers environment.
- New Challenges: The challenge adds new threats similar to Crossy Road’s gameplay, including unpredictable moving obstacles.
- Time Extension Mechanic: A special feature enables players to increase their run time by fulfilling certain objectives while playing the Crossy Road Challenge. This mechanic rewards players for their performance and encourages skillful driving.
Players in Crossy Road are introduced to a new world based on Subway Surfers. This Subway Surfers-themed world includes familiar mechanisms from the endless runner game, such as:
- Jetpacks: Jetpacks can be used by players to fly above obstacles, simulating one of Subway Surfers’ most recognized power-ups.
- Magnet Power-Ups: Subway Surfers’ magnets that pull coins when running are used in this world.
- Subway Tokens: These tokens are found throughout the environment and can be traded in for special Subway Surfers-themed characters and cosmetics.
4. Special Challenges and Rewards
In Subway Surfers, Crossy Road Challenge is an event created specifically for the game that takes inspiration from Crossy Road. Major aspects of the challenge are:
- Pixelated World: The world of the game is turned into a pixelated world based on Crossy Road, with characteristic blue trains and other hazards.
- Crossy Road-Themed Hazards: The player has to navigate through Crossy Road-themed obstacles.
- Time Extension Mechanic: Finishing certain objectives within the challenge helps players prolong their run time.
By finishing these challenges, players can access special crossover characters like Chicken Jake and Mallard Tricky.
In Crossy Road, players get to see a new Subway Surfers-inspired world where they can engage in challenges with mechanics from Subway Surfers. Features include:
- Subway Tokens Collection: Players need to gather Subway Tokens scattered across the environment. The tokens are a currency used to unlock event-exclusive rewards.
- Familiar Mechanics: Power-ups such as jetpacks and magnets, which are classics of Subway Surfers, are used in challenges while hopping through the gameplay of Crossy Road.
Exclusive Rewards:
- Crossover Characters: Unlockable characters such as Chicken Jake, Mallard Tricky, Jake, and Tricky are at the heart of the event’s allure.
- Cosmetics: Players can earn themed cosmetics that give their gaming experience a personal touch.
- Event Currency: Subway Tokens earned from runs in Crossy Road can be exchanged for more prizes.
5. Three-Week Event Duration
The three-week duration finds a balance between availability and urgency. It provides players with enough time to interact with the content without rushing.
Players are motivated to actively participate within this duration to avoid missing out on the special characters, themed worlds, and gameplay mechanics brought by the collaboration.
The finite window also fits within mobile gaming behavior where short-lived events fuel the game and make the playerbase excited.
Event Highlights:
1. Subway Surfers
Players will be able to play the Crossy Road Challenge in a pixelated world set against the spirit of Crossy Road. They get to steer around obstacles like old blue trains while unlocking the crossover characters including Chicken Jake and Mallard Tricky.
2. Crossy Road
A Subway Surfers-themed world brings along mechanics such as jetpacks and magnets. Players earn Subway Tokens in their runs, which can be used to get unique Subway Surfers-themed characters and cosmetics.
The event is designed so that players can have new gameplay experiences while celebrating the marriage of two beloved mobile gaming universes.
Subway Surfers and Crossy Road are both free to download on iOS, Android, and other platforms. This makes it possible for players around the globe to engage in the crossover event without any entry barriers.
The three-week limit of the Subway Surfers x Crossy Road event is an optimally-timed duration which maximizes players’ attention with the newness of the crossover without over-exposing the player base.
Having exclusive content contained within this temporal window, SYBO and Hipster Whale have designed an event that pays tribute to their mutual heritage in mobile gaming and introduces new experiences for their international consumers.
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