It’s been a pretty strong year for Sega’s long-runningSonic the Hedgehogfranchise, and, in a recent interview with Japanese gaming outletFamitsu, Sonic Team member Takashi Iizuka hinted at more to come in 2023. From a popular silver screen sequel early in 2022 to the debut ofSonic Frontiersin November, there’s been quite a bit of quality content for fans ofSonic the Hedgehogto celebrate as of late, but this may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Most of the upcoming Sonic content planned for the next weeks and months will likely come by way ofSonic Frontiers. ASonic Frontierscontent roadmapwas revealed back in late November, and it promises three major updates including everything from a photo mode and additional challenge modes to all-new playable characters and story content. Sega has yet to unveil any real specifics about the upcomingSonic Frontierscontent, but the first update is likely to see release in early 2023.
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However, there’s much more room for speculation regarding future content beyondSonic Frontiers. In the interview withFamitsu, Takashi Iizuka was fairly vague, only confirming that Sonic Team is preparing a “second wave” of content to maintain the brand’s momentum over the next 12 months. Many agree thatSonic Frontiersserved as a great framework upon which an even better sequelcould be built, but, without any solid details, it’s hard to say exactly what Sega and Sonic Team could be cooking up.
An eight-episode season ofthe animated seriesSonic Primealso recently debuted on Netflix, and Sonic Team may find a way to integrate it intoSonic Frontiersor develop the series into a fully-fledged game. There’s certainly precedent for this; theSonic Boommultimedia franchise spawned two game releases and launched an animated series that premiered more than 100 episodes.
Merchandising is also a huge part of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand.Sonic plushies have already rolled out at Build-A-Bear, and the franchise is set to receive its own line of Squishmallows and LEGO sets in the very near future. It’s not likely that this was the kind of content Takashi Iizuka was hyping up in his interview, but collectibles like these may become a mainstay of the Sonic brand should the character’s current level of popularity be maintained. Whatever the case, Sonic fans have quite a bit to look forward to in 2023, and, hopefully, this can be the beginning of a new era for Sega’s iconic Blue Blur.
