New rumours suggest that the upcoming title, Sonic Mania, may have a release date.
The official Steam page for Sonic Mania, one of Sega’s newest instalments in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise went live today and fans were quick to notice a listing for the game’s release date, Aug. 15, 2017. Although the release date was quickly removed, some fans managed to capture the information in a screenshot, tweeting it out in order to spread the word.
Sonic Mania is an upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog title that returns the mascot back to his roots in a side-scrolling platformer adventure. The game is being developed by Headcannon, a studio put in charge of many of the recent Sonic the Hedgehog mobile ports and PagodaWest Games. Sonic Mania blends many of the features found in classic Sonic titles such as elemental shields and other power-ups while also including popular stages such as Green Hill Zone but with new additions to its layout. Players will be able to play as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles with each being able to make use their original abilities like flight or wall climbing.
Sonic Mania was originally announced in July 2016 alongside Sonic Forces, the next major console title in the franchise. Sonic Forces features the return of the gameplay featured in Sonic Generations, allowing stages to be played as both Classic Sonic in 2D and Modern Sonic in 3D. Sega recently announced that players would be able to create their own third character for the first time in the history of the series, being offered a wide variety of appearance and equipment options, offering a new play style unique to that character.
Both Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces are planned for launch later this year for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.