Originally, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was set to make some announcements about its future today, April 15, at a panel at SXSW. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen SXSW canceled. Fans hoping that the Sonic the Hedgehog announcements would still come will be disappointed to learn that the announcements, whatever they are, have been delayed.
This was announced by the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account. The delay was so that Sega could keep its team members safe, though it promises that it will show fans the SXSW content once "things have settled." The tweet the ends by thanking fans for their patience, and promising that a release date will be revealed as soon as it's settled on.
It's unclear exactly what was going to be announced at SXSW, but rumors and speculation pointed to a new Sonic the Hedgehog video game announcement. Another rumor claimed that Sega was instead going to announce a Sonic 30th Anniversary Collection bundle at the event. However, it's also possible that the announcements were completely unrelated to Sonic the Hedgehog as a video game franchise, and could have been for a new TV show or some other kind of media.
In the meantime, fans may want to keep an eye out in June. Rumors are that Microsoft and Sega have a joint announcement planned this coming June, which was originally meant to be part of Microsoft's E3 2020 press conference. Nothing official has been announced, but fans should stay tuned for more information.