Despite average reviews, Sonic Frontiers, with its new open-air approach, has proven hugely popular with fans, so much so that Sega is willing to pump more money into games featuring the blue blur.
During a Q&A session with investors, Sega revealed that sales of the latest game in the long-running series had “far exceeded” the company’s initial estimates and that it had pledged to give Sonic Team a larger budget to build future titles. .
SEGA GIVES SONIC TEAM A HIGHER BUDGET FOR FUTURE SONIC TITLES! WE WON. pic.twitter.com/5x8aP6hGDxFebruary 16, 2023
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“We expect development costs for new titles to increase even more in the future,” Sega says. “We will strive to ensure solid quality in the development of major titles in our existing franchises. However, development labor costs will increase due to the impact of the global external environment, and we we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future.”
He adds: “As these challenges are to be met for the main titles, we are proceeding with a larger budget, even from the basic research stage. Therefore, we assume that development costs for future new titles will increase accordingly.”
Naturally, Sonic’s rock-solid fan base took to Twitter in celebration. One wrote: “The small team that worked on Frontiers is pretty amazing! I can’t wait to see what they accomplish with a bigger team and budget.” Another said, “It’s really amazing and I can’t wait to see what the Sonic team comes up with,” while a third added: “It’s what he deserves.”
With Sonic Frontiers having been a huge hit, now selling nearly 3 million worldwide, a full-fledged sequel is a strong possibility. That said, game director Morio Kishimoto also recently teased that we should “expect” more side-scrolling Sonic games. Whatever happens next, it certainly seems like the perfect time to be a Sonic fan.
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