2022 has been "the biggest year in Sonic history", says Sonic Team, but there's "a lot more" still to come

Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka has revealed that while he thinks 2022 was "the biggest year in Sonic history", there's "a lot more" still to come for Sonic fans to enjoy, too.

In a quote shared with Famitsu (via Gematsu / Nintendo Life), Iizuka trumpeted the celebrated Sonic movie sequel, new Netflix show Sonic Prime, and 2022's two Sonic releases - Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers - and said that whilst the team was busy "preparing a second wave to keep fans happy and maintain that momentum", there was a lot more than just Sonic Frontier's DLC to look forward to as we move into 2023. 

"This past year was the biggest year in Sonic history, including the release of the movie sequel, new titles Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers, and the Netflix animation Sonic Prime," Iizuka said.

"We are preparing a second wave to keep the fans happy and maintain that momentum going into 2023. We already announced additional content for Sonic Frontiers, but there is a lot more outside of that, so please look forward to it."

Morio Kishimoto, the director of Sonic Frontiers, recently confirmed that the game "still has a long way to go".

Kishimoto said that they were "relieved the release date has arrived" and said the Sonic Frontiers development team was "checking out the opinions of the critics and players" and likened the release to "a global playtest". 

“I’m sorry I haven’t contacted you until now, because we’ve been busy since the release date,” Kishimoto tweeted at the time. “I’m relieved that the release date has arrived and that [Sonic Frontiers] seems to have reached everyone safely.

“We are checking out the opinions of the critics and players. As you have pointed out, we still have a long way to go, and we will take this seriously as a global playtest."

That said, Iizuka thinks the open-world template set for Sonic Frontiers will be the "cornerstone of future Sonic games", stating that its' "brand-new approach" "marks another defining moment for the franchise".

"Our goal with Sonic Frontiers was to evolve the linear, stage-clearing 3D action that began with Sonic Adventure in 1998 into a new action-packed adventure game where players have the freedom to explore the environment around them," Iizuka said a few weeks ago.

Take a look at our best Sonic games list to find out if Sonic Frontiers makes the cut.