It has been recently discovered that Sega's upcoming Sonic Frontiers was originally planned to be released in 2021 to coincide with Sonic's 30th Anniversary. Sonic Frontiers was first teased during Sega's Sonic Central livestream last spring. Fans were also treated to a full trailer of the new Sonic the Hedgehog game during the Game Awards 2021. Now it's been revealed that the title's release was originally slated for 2021.
Sega's newest game will be the first open-world title for the blue hedgehog, following a recent trend in video games. The upcoming installment in the Sonic franchise will feature massive bosses and maybe even a new speed power for the hero. Sega has also disclosed that the game's story will be written by Ian Flynn, a longtime comic book writer who has previously worked on Archie's Sonic The Hedgehog comics. After Archie dropped the series, Flynn went to IDW to work on its version of the Sonic The Hedgehog series as lead writer. With an open-world concept, new powers, and a Sonic expert like Ian Flynn writing the story, Sonic Frontiers sounds promising.
As reported by IGN Middle East, Sega had initially planned for Sonic Frontiers to release in time to celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary. According to Sega's December Investor Q&A, the delay in launch is due to improving the quality of the title. In response to a question regarding Sonic Frontiers' open-world concept and the projection of its sales, Sega responded in part with: "Originally it was planned to be released on this year, the 30th anniversary of Sonic, but we have postponed the release for a year in order to further brush up the quality."
Sega is now giving 2022's holiday season as the approximate release date for Sonic Frontiers. That date has been allegedly narrowed down to November 2022 thanks to PlayStation Game Size reporting in December that the PlayStation database assigned November 2022 as a due date for the game. A November release date for Sonic Frontiers would fit in Sega's expected holiday season window. Furthermore, several of the Sonic franchise's games have been released in November throughout the years.
Even if Sonic Frontiers will not make its launch date target to also coincide with Sonic's 30th Anniversary, fans can surely appreciate the fact that Sega is taking the extra step to polish the game for Sonic fans. This is especially the case when considering that Sonic games in recent years have strayed from their original successful formula. Here's hoping that Sonic Frontiers lives up to its hype.
Source: IGN Middle East, Sega