Fresh from celebrating the 25th birthday of the super-speed blue hedgehog, SEGA have announced that two new Sonic the Hedgehog titles will be released next year.
They were announced at a party held in honour of SEGA’s most popular star at the San Diego Comic Con.
The first, the digital game Sonic Mania brings fans back to the classic art and play style of the original 2D platformer levels from Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as well as adding all new Boss battles and Zones into the mix. Elements from Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic CD are also expected to be present.
Speaking at the event, Takashi Iizuka, the Head of Sonic Team said: Sonic Mania was born out of our fans’ love of the classic Sonic 2D platform games.” He continued “This type of collaboration is a first for SEGA and we hope everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title. Sonic Mania has been a passion project for the entire team and we look forward to sharing more details about it later this year. Having the game actually playable at the event itself tonight was testament to the dedication of the team behind it.” The game is set to be released Spring 2017.
The second title which was announced was less detailed, however, it was confirmed to be in 3D and released for all major consoles in late 2017. When asked about the title, Ivo Gerscovich, Chief Brand Officer of Sonic Pillar and SVP of SEGA of America refused to reveal much, merely teasing: “This is only the beginning for Sonic and we’re happy our fans were here to celebrate this exciting new direction.”
In addition, it was announced that Sonic Dash had been downloaded over 200 million times, and so a special Green Hill Zone track would be available to commemorate this.
Watch the trailer for Sonic Mania below:
