Fans of Sega’s speedy blue hedgehog have been anticipating the release of Sonic Mania since it’s announcement last year, while others have been waiting much longer for a throwback return. Now that the game has finally dropped, PC players have been less than pleased with the result. It wasn’t gameplay or visuals that were to blame, but the title’s always-online requirement that had users of the platform fuming. So unwanted was the perceived Sonic Mania DRM, that upset fans began leaving extremely negative reviews on both Steam and across social media.

As fans had probably hoped, Sega was quick to respond to the backlash by releasing a statement on Facebook. It was revealed that an always online Sonic Mania DRM wasn’t intended to be a part of the game, the always-online feature having been included without Sega’s knowledge. Perhaps DRM was to be included in a previous build of the game, but the feature is now being referred to as a “bug” that they are working to fix as soon as possible.

https://www.facebook.com/SEGA/posts/10155636608246796

Shortly after the above acknowledgement, a patch was released for Sonic Mania that removed the always-online requirement. As a precaution, Sega prompted players to report any further issues should they they arrive. While Denuvo DRM wasn’t actually to blame, the quick response from developers put out the fire before it got too overblown. Fan outrage definitely could have been worse though, as happened recently with Dota 2 and angry Half-Life fans. No Man’s Sky faced criticism on launch as well, but has since remedied several concerns with subsequent updates.

Sonic Mania is out now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. What do you think? Are you happy the error was repaired, or unhappy that something like this could slip so easily through the cracks? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow DFTG on the Twitter for the latest gaming and entertainment new 24 hours a day!