Sonic Frontiers was reportedly meant to launch in 2021, but was pushed back to 2022 to “brush up the quality.”
The next game in the Sonic franchise, Sonic Frontiers, was first teased back in May 2021. The teaser trailer basically showed nothing off, and Sega themselves admitted it might have been too early. Fans assumed that the game would be a while from release because of this. But it turns out the Sonic Frontiers was originally meant to launch in 2021.
As spotted by Sonic Stadium, a recent investors Q&A revealed that Sonic Frontiers was internally delayed to 2022 for quality reasons. “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,” reads the investor Q&A.
“Not only for this title, but during the development phase, we have been steadily conducting analysis to improve the quality of the title before release, such as introducing game testing based on external evaluations, and I have a feeling that it will become a good game and have high expectations for it.”
quality over speed
It sounds like Sega are trying to really make sure they have a quality game on their hands before releasing it. As noted by Sonic Stadium, Sega is a bit notorious for releasing Sonic games in unfinished states. Sonic ‘06 infamously released as a broken mess, and the recent Sonic Colors: Ultimate port wasn’t perfect either.
Sega also seems to be set on valuing the cost of their titles appropriate to the amount of spending and work put into them. Sonic Frontiers will likely have a AAA standard price point. Whereas Sonic Forces released at a lower price point compared to other titles at the time.
The investors Q&A also revealed that Sega is looking into NFTs and play-to-earn models. The studio knows that players dislike them. But they still want to figure out in what way they might accept them, as well as Japanese regulators.
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Featured Image Credit: SEGA