Sonic 2022 Open-World Game Leak Possibly Proven By Frontiers Trademark

At Sega’s Sonic Central 30th Anniversary Livestream event earlier this year, the company announced a new entry in the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog series – and news of a new trademark may confirm the game’s title. While Sega has been pretty quiet about this new Sonic game since that announcement, only revealing a few seconds of footage and a broad release window of 2022.

The Sonic Central 30th Anniversary Livestream event primarily concentrated on re-releases and remasters of older Sonic games. This included Sonic Colors: Ultimate – a remaster of 2010’s Sonic Colors – as well as Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps, an animated series based on that game. Sonic Origins, a compilation of some classic Sonic games, will arrive in the future; though Sega did not disclose a release date. Sega seemed to save the best news of the livestream event for last, though, with a cryptic teaser featuring Sonic running through a forest and a mysterious symbol, along with a 2022 release window and a list of platforms for the game. The series producer, Takashi Iizuka, says that the new Sonic game will evolve the series formula.

According to Twitter user Renka_schedule, Sega has applied to trademark “Sonic Frontiers” in both Japanese and English. Though this Tweet offers no other information, the post led to further speculation. The trademark arrives hot on the heels of rumors that the next game in the Sonic series would indeed be titled Sonic Frontiers, and would have a more open-world setup – as opposed to the series’ staple level-based structure. As usual with a classic franchise like Sonic, fans are hungry for any and all information on what’s coming next, hoping for their expectations to be met. And after Sonic Colors: Ultimate’s poor reception resulted in Nintendo issuing refunds, the next entry in the series has much to prove.

“Sonic Frontiers” is the second name fans suggested for the upcoming game. Initially, based on metadata pulled from the production of the teaser aired at the Sonic Central 30th Anniversary event, fans claimed that the game would be called “Sonic Rangers.” This is still possible, seeing as Sega has yet to officially announce the game’s title. With the upcoming installment due in 2022 – which is fast-approaching – it is likely Sega will announce more soon. Additionally, this trademark certainly suggests that the name “Sonic Frontiers” will soon be of great importance. That said, with no indication of what it will play like or which Sonic characters it might feature, all players can do is wait for more information.

Sonic as a franchise with plenty of ups and downs. From beloved games to infuriating Sonic NFT marketing strategies, the Sega franchise is never afraid to try new things. Only time will tell if this new game will reinvigorate the series like its producer claimed.

Source: Twitter/VGC

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