Sonic Frontiers takes place on five islands filled with puzzles, collectibles, and several mysteries that leave Sonic guessing the entire time he's searching for a way to save his friends. Introducing a new gameplay formula using "open-zone" exploration, this ambitious title has made its mark on fans. Sonic Frontiers quickly became the best-selling 3D Sonic game of all time, and part of this success can be attributed to a marketing tactic Sega used that other games could learn from.
The way that Sonic's latest adventure comes with its own DLC plan that is scattered throughout 2023 may be the very thing that separates it from the competition. While easily seen as waves of downloadable content, these updates to Sonic Frontiers are different from most DLC packs as they're completely free for all players. It's certainly a unique approach to capitalizing on a game's success, but it seems to be a beneficial one.
The Price Tag of Sonic Frontiers' DLC
Sonic Frontiers was a complete experience on its own when it launched, but even after unlocking the true ending, some fans desired additional modes such as a way to battle Sonic Frontiers' titan bosses again. This is where the DLC updates come in, only asking players to own the base game to either be given more content upon playing or to be given a reason to return to the Starfall Islands after clearing the story once already.
It's honestly a bold choice by Sega, as similar DLC packages typically come with some price these days. Even Sega's own Sonic Origins and Sonic Origins Plus charges for character animations on the menu screens and additional songs and extras. Yet, Sonic Frontiers went the opposite direction despite the fact that the original game getting additional content such as an expansion pass would be an easy way to make a few extra dollars. However, this is a strategy in itself.
The Well-Timed Spacing of Sonic Frontiers' DLC Packs
The lack of a price tag on Sonic Frontiers' DLC is so important because, while much of its content is just additional fun features such as the Sights, Sounds, and Speed update adding Photo Mode and the JukeBox, some of it could very well have justified being sold as a huge pass for at least some amount of money. This is especially true with the third planned update, which adds new playable characters and even a special story episode. Considering how desired these new playable characters have been by many Sonic fans, the fact that they're being added for free is surprising.
It's very likely that these updates are being separated over the course of the year to help boost sales numbers. Sonic Frontiers may have already surpassed sales expectations, but the DLC roadmap, as well as its contents, were likely planned during development. That said, it's even more of a surprise that Sega hadn't changed its mind and added a price tag in the face of the game's already consistent success. This will likely help net some important last few sales at the end of Sonic Frontiers' first year, as that's when the third DLC pack most likely will release.
When looking at how the first and second updates for Sonic Frontiers are planned to launch within three months of each other, this means that the final update will likely hit in September. It's a great opportunity for those who want to play as the new playable characters to see who they are and realize they only have to buy the game to play as them, almost guaranteeing a number of last-minute sales. It's a very clever tactic on Sega's part, and other games could learn from it by leaving some money on the table in order to earn more in the grand scope of things rather than consistently charge for small-scale DLC packs, as Sonic Frontiers serves as a great argument for its benefits.
Sonic Frontiers released on November 8, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
