Sonic Frontiers trailer takes center stage at The Game Awards 2021

Sonic Frontiers was revealed at The Game Awards 2021, giving us a glimpse at the "open zone-inspired" experience that's set to launch next year for current- and last-gen consoles.

The first trailer for Sonic Frontiers gives us a hint of what to expect from Sonic's upcoming adventure – his first outing since 2017's Sonic Forces. You'll be speeding through the Starfall Islands in an effort to once again take down Dr. Eggman, this time whipping through a variety of lush-looking landscapes with the sort of velocity that we've long hoped to see the series grasp in the 3D-era.

We reported back in May that a new Sonic game is coming in 2022 and it would appear that this is the game that was first teased in that Sonic Central Stream. Sonic Frontiers is being developed by Sonic Team, with development led by director Morio Kishimoto (director of Sonic Forces and Sonic Colors) and producer Sachiko Kawamura (who served as art director of Sonic Forces and Sonic Generations). Ian Flynn, who wrote Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series for over a decade, is set to pen an original storyline for the upcoming game.

It isn't yet clear how truly open this "open-zone realm" is going to be, but Takashi Iizuka, creative officer at Sonic Team USA, says: "Sonic Frontiers is a huge leap forward for the franchise, delivering an evolved gameplay experience that can be enjoyed by longtime Sonic fans and action-adventure enthusiasts alike."

"With the effort of the talented developers at Sonic Team Japan, we’ve created an all-new style of gameplay experience for Sonic the Hedgehog, where players will be able to explore lush and expansive landscapes with Sonic’s signature speed and abilities."

Sonic Frontiers is due to release "late 2022", for current and last-gen platforms.

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Josh West is Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 18 years of experience in both online and print journalism, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Josh has contributed to world-leading gaming, entertainment, tech, music, and comics brands, including games™, Edge, Retro Gamer, SFX, 3D Artist, Metal Hammer, and Newsarama. In addition, Josh has edited and written books for Hachette and Scholastic, and worked across the Future Games Show as an Assistant Producer. He specializes in video games and entertainment coverage, and has provided expert comment for outlets like the BBC and ITV. In his spare time, Josh likes to play FPS games and RPGs, practice the bass guitar, and reminisce about the film and TV sets he worked on as a child actor.