Hey, guess what? There’s Sonic news.

It’s no secret that people have been waiting to hear what’s next for Sonic the Hedgehog. We’ve had rumors, we’ve had wild speculation, but now we have something to actually talk about! As advertised, “Sonic Central” went live earlier today. Running for twelve minutes, the team over at Sega HQ were able to cram in all sorts of Sonic goodness, including some game announcements. So let’s just dive right in!

Arguably the main focus of the presentation, Sonic Colors Ultimate has finally been announced. Slated to be released on September 7th of this year for PC/PS4/Switch/XBOX, it doesn’t look to be just a straight port of the original Wii version. The trailer shows off some alternate costumes for Sonic to run in, also listing a number of extras exclusive to the “digital deluxe” edition. The rerelease is also meant to include a “Rival Rush” mode, where Sonic can now race against his metallic doppelganger, Metal Sonic. Not in the original Sonic Colors, Metal is going all out, as he’ll also be featured in a brand new tie-in animation, Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps.

We also got word of a new Sonic compilation. Entitled Sonic Origins, all we know so far is that it will have the original 16-bit games, all in widescreen. The first dedicated Sonic collection in over a decade, the star so far seems to be Sonic 3 & Knuckles, returning from the rumored purgatory it’s been sitting in. No further details were announced, so the music situation is still up in the air. Not being released until 2022, hopefully that will give the developers enough time to craft something that is a worthy successor to Sonic Jam.

Remember Sonic the Fighters? Ryu Ga Gotoku does, sneaking the game into Lost Judgement, the sequel to the Yakuza spin off. That’s just one of the many places Sonic will show his face in upcoming Sega properties. Two Point Hospital? Yeah, Sonic will check you in. The Tokyo Olympics? Yep, there’s someone dressed as Sonic jumping over hurdles. Hopefully, he stays hydrated.

Along with some merch reveals, one of the show runners for Sonic Prime also made an appearance. Though no footage of the show was seen, we did get a small tease of Eggman’s newest logo, which will surely factor across the imagery of the “shatterverse.”

In classic Sonic announcement fashion, the end of the stream had one final surprise – a CG teaser for the next new game in the franchise. Looking to be animated by Marza, it definitely looks slick. What’s the name? Well, it might be Sonic Rangers, but we’re not sure yet. How does it play? Also not sure yet. All we know is that it’s coming in 2022, and it’s from Sonic Team. If it’s meant to come out during the holidays, then the next 18 months should be quite interesting.

Of everything shown off, what’s got you most excited? Tweet out at us, or join our Discord to dive into some live Sonic discourse. Sonic’s 30th is just beginning, and we’re here to ride the wind along with him.