The video game industry has many long-enduring franchises, with one of the most beloved characters to lead one of these franchises being Sonic the Hedgehog. With 2021 marking the 30th anniversary of the character’s first video game, SEGA has promised several big new Sonic projects currently in the works, including a Sonic Colors remaster and a brand new core Sonic game coming in 2022. The Sonic the Hedgehog series is quite well known for its various iterations over the past few decades, and it seems that Sonic 2022 has big expectations from SEGA cast on it, with 1998’s Sonic Adventure being the benchmark.

Sonic Team Leader Takashi Iizuka recently spoke with Sonic Stadium about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog game set for release in 2022. Iizuka expresses the team’s intent to make “something new and challenging” with the 2022 game, currently rumored to be titled “Sonic Rangers.” With this year being an anniversary year for the series, past games released during an anniversary are noted as helping greatly shape the course of the series in the years that followed. When asked about this, Iizuka responds with this statement:

“The new title in development is progressing towards a 2022 release, so I can’t really call it an Anniversary title. However, Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for 20 years of Sonic titles after its release, so in the same way I really hope that this new title releasing in 2022 lays the foundation for the following future Sonic titles – that is the idea behind the challenge for the team.”

Sonic Adventure on the SEGA Dreamcast was the first fully 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game and helped propel the franchise into the 21st century. Iizuka further comments that the team hopes to make the new game “new and challenging”, though so far, it has taken a lot of trial and error. While the Sonic series has had some missteps over the years, its titles in more recent years have made better decisions and higher quality strides. Hopefully, Sonic 2022 keeps the streak going, and that it doesn’t go fast.

What do you guys think about the Sonic Team hoping that Sonic 2022 is as influential as Sonic Adventure? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Sonic the Hedgehog news, such as Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka’s departure from Square Enix, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!