With a recent story trailer revealed at this year's Gamescom Opening Night Live, and Sega and Sonic Team confirming that there won't be any delays, Sonic Frontiers is set to officially launch on schedule this November. Already the game has garnered attention as a reimagining of traditional Sonic gameplay in an partial open-world format, and the latest story trailer has further hinted at what Sonic Frontiers will add to the series. However, due to the added attention bringing heightened scrutiny from fans and a crowded November for gaming, Sega's commitment to Sonic Frontiers launch date could be detrimental.
In addition to Sonic Frontiers, other big-name games will be released in November, including titles such as God of War: Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Worse still, Sonic Frontiers was late to the party in announcing its release date, as these other games have long since confirmed their launches earlier this year. Between this and the fans' negative response after seeing early Sonic Frontiers gameplay footage, it seems Sega should reconsider Sonic Frontiers' launch date to ensure it's not needlessly competing with other titles while also delivering a more polished game.
The Challenges of a Crowded Launch
Acknowledging that Sonic itself sits among the most recognizable gaming franchises like Mario or The Legend of Zelda, committing to a November release date is gambling that this reputation will be enough to turn players' heads at launch in the midst of other titles releasing at the same time. Sonic Frontiers will be pitting itself against other juggernaut franchises including Pokemon and God of War, both of whom have highly anticipated upcoming games this fall.
So while Sonic Frontiers might be a remarkable Sonic title, Sega and Sonic Team are taking a risk in betting its success over that of these other titles, especially when the current cost of living challenges might be forcing players to economize and choose which games they can afford to buy. Given that the likes of God of War: Ragnarok, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and even Goat Simulator 3 have locked in November releases, Sonic Frontiers suddenly confirming a similar date with just over two months to go is going to be a gamble.
Risking a Repeat of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Though Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric has an extensive list of reasons as to why it flopped, one of factor was the push for a similar November release date regardless of whether the game was ready for distribution or not. Unsurprisingly, due to its rushed and botched development, Sonic Boom performed very poorly for Sega. However, Sega's not unique here, as many publishers and developers push for release dates to coincide with seasonal events like Christmas, even at the cost of quality. Still, Sega's steadfast commitment to a November release for Sonic Frontiers should therefore be ringing alarm bells for fans.
It's easy to draw the parallels between Sonic Boom and Sonic Frontiers for another rushed release in time for Christmas, but there are actually other connections that can be made. The response from fans to early gameplay footage and trailers has not inspired much confidence in Sonic Frontiers' new open-world approach and combat. Aside from Sega confirming its November launch, Sonic Team has also gone on record to dismiss concerns and fears about repeating past mistakes.
Fans of Sonic Frontiers and the greater franchise have shared a desire for the game to be delayed to early 2023. While this would mean sacrificing possible seasonal profits, it could offer Sonic Team time to polish the game so that it's the best it can be while also avoiding competing with other titles. Nevertheless, although Sonic Frontiers is under pressure to succeed, it seems that fans' criticism and concerns over a crowded release window have fallen on deaf ears for Sega, meaning Sonic Frontiers could become another middling Sonic game among several others.
Sonic Frontiers is set to release on November 8, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
