It was a big day today for the fastest hedgehog alive.
Sega hosted their official Sonic the Hedgehog panel at SXSW today, revealing a variety of new information about their multiple upcoming projects, while also releasing some new content on the official Sonic twitter at the same time.
First up, the bad news; Sonic Mania, the highly-anticipated upcoming 2D Sonic platformer, has been delayed, now slated to release in summer 2017 rather than the initially announced spring. No specific release date has yet been announced, but in the meantime fans can get a look at a bit of Sonic Mania‘s gameplay in the new gameplay teaser posted today, which shows off the classic Flying Battery Zone, making its return from Sonic 3. Check it out below:
In other Sonic news, Sega has finally shared the real title of the mysterious “other” upcoming Sonic game, previously labeled as “Project Sonic” or “Sonic 2017”; the game’s official title will be Sonic Forces, referencing “the battle between the forces of good and evil”. Sonic Forces will be a 3D Sonic game, built in a brand new engine called “The Hedgehog Engine 2” for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.
Sega shared some concept art for Sonic Forces along with the name announcement today, which shows off the game’s darker, gritty setting, as well as the scale of the game’s enemies and locations.
Sega will share the first official gameplay footage for Sonic Forces tomorrow.
You can catch up on all the Sonic SXSW details and announcements in the official recap video posted on the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel, shared below: