Sonic Frontiers has made quite a name for itself in the last few months. It's intrigued fans with how it plans to be the blue hedgehog's first open world adventure, but has also worried series loyalists with questionable gameplay reveals. While plenty of news has come out about the latest Sonic game in recent months, some parts of it have still been left as a surprise. Gamescom has confirmed that the title will be present in its reveals at Opening Night Live, and many fans are excited as a result.
However, ahead of the event, a Japanese trailer for Sonic Frontiers was accidentally made public on the official Japanese Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel before quickly being made private. Those who saw the short trailer while it was available were surprised to find the release date for the title at the end. The game is due on November 8, 2022, specifically promoted as a worldwide release in the Japanese text next to it.
The trailer that was posted was the same one showcased alongside the theatrical release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in Japan, but the one movie goers saw went without the release date. Judging by how this edited version was quickly removed, this one was most likely made to be posted after Gamescom's trailer, which likely features the date as well.
Fans should be familiar with the release date for Frontiers, as Sega has had a habit of releasing Sonic titles in early November. However, more specifically, Sonic Forces was released worldwide on November 7, 2017, and then November 9 in Japan. However, some fans are concerned that choosing November this year may hurt Sega as God of War and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release relatively close to Frontiers when Sega's been public about its internal sales goals.
Sega most likely aims for this release window for Sonic titles due to how Christmas is the perfect time for families to try and find games for their kids, the main demographic for Sonic. Sega may be aiming for the holidays to possibly make up for any sales they lose to its competitors ahead of time. The sales numbers for both Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Origins may be important when it comes to testing the marketing plan of releasing 2D and 3D Sonic games within the same year.
Despite the release date being leaked accidentally by Sega, fans should most definitely still keep an eye on Gamescom for more Sonic Frontiers news at the event. With the way Sega has teased the game's appearance there so far, there's a strong chance a more lengthy trailer than the shorter Japanese one will appear.
Sonic Frontiers is scheduled to release on November 8, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.