Future Sonic Games Will Also Be Open-World, Says Sonic Frontiers Producer
It has been over 3 weeks since the release of Sonic Frontiers. Not only has the game seen huge commercial success by becoming the best-selling Sonic game in the last 20 years in Japan, but it has also become a fan-favorite with its fabulous open-world experience and promising storyline and gameplay.
The dev team behind Sonic Frontiers has also vowed to take the Sonic franchise to greater heights and has confirmed that Sonic Frontiers will receive multiple free DLCs in the future. Undoubtedly, it was a treat for Sonic fans who had been waiting for a good Sonic game for a long time.
In a recent interview with the Sector, Sonic Frontiers producer Takashi Iizuka confirmed that the new open-world aspect of Sonic Frontiers will be the basic requirement for future Sonic games. Furthermore, he has made it clear that this new aspect in the game was a big leap in the model of the Sonic franchise, just like Sonic Adventure did in 1988 (the switch from 2D to 3D). Takashi Iizuka said:
Bringing Sonic fully into the 3D world with Sonic Adventure was one of the most challenging yet rewarding moments. I truly believe 2022 marks another defining moment for the franchise as we move into open-zone platforming gameplay with Sonic Frontiers. I feel incredibly privileged to work on such a well-loved franchise.
Just like Sonic Adventure, our goal for Sonic Frontiers was to create a game that would be the cornerstone of future Sonic games. It is a brand-new approach for the franchise, but we have been conscious to honour Sonic’s roots as well – the game still needs to feel like a Sonic game.”
He added: “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.
We know many players love exploring expansive worlds with no predetermined path and that’s what we set out to achieve with our new open-zone platforming concept. I am very excited for Sonic to join this revolutionary step in immersive gaming worlds.”
Takashi Iizuka tagged Sonic Frontiers as the ‘cornerstone’ for the future games in the franchise. While sharing this good news with the fans, he has expressed that he is proud of what the team achieved with Sonic Frontiers and is happy that fans loved the game. As stated:
It has been a pleasure to work with Ian Flynn (Sonic Frontiers’ Writer), who has been an active contributor to the Sonic franchise for a long time. He knows the characters well and brought great development to their emotions and interactions.
I’m incredibly proud of what the team has managed to achieve with our new open-zone platforming gameplay and world design, as well as the steps taken to bring Sonic into the modern age. We had big ambitions to evolve Sonic’s established gameplay into a more modern experience, while ensuring the game feels familiar to long-time fans. I am very proud of what we have achieved.”
While no details about the next Sonic game were shared, it will be interesting to see what the next game will bring for the fans as Sonic Frontiers has set the standard pretty high, and the fans expect the next game to be on par with the current scale of the franchise.
Sonic Frontiers is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
So, what are your thoughts about this? Are you excited to know what else the devs have in store for the fans? Let us know in the comment section below.
