There are plenty of people keeping tabs on the upcoming Sonic Frontiers. It is looking to be one of the most ambitious games in the franchise, with it being the first time the franchise is taking on the open-world genre. This shift has seen comparisons between Sonic Frontiers and Nintendo's Breath of the Wild, especially with the initial gameplay reveal showing off puzzles, combat, and atmosphere that fits the mold. Sonic fans were also given a plethora amount of news throughout the month of June, with various gameplay showcases and trailers.
The reception to Sonic Frontiers so far has been rather mixed, with initial impressions from gameplay showcases via IGN First being described as unfavorable at its worst. Other trailers that have been released since then have put the game in a somewhat more positive light, such as the most recent trailer that was shown at Nintendo's third party showcase, showing off the combat, cyberspace levels, and environments. Discussion of the game heated up again, as a recent change on Steam's database indicated a possible release date and the usage of DRM.
SteamDB keeps up-to-date on various changes to the platform, including details of a game's application, such as when a game has been added. This entry for Sonic Frontiers showed off three notable changes to the app, including the provisional release date for Sonic Frontiers. The database recorded a change from a provisional date of September 1 to November 8, which lines up with a past PlayStation leak that indicated that Sonic Frontiers would be releasing in November.
One change that has however gotten some fans riled is the deployment of Denuvo DRM. For the uninitiated, Denuvo DRM is an extremely controversial copy protection practice that is still criticized to this day. Many PC gamers loathe it, as it can cause games to potentially run worse than it normally would. Past Sonic games such as Sonic Mania had utilized it for its PC release, though it was removed a few years later after much outcry.
A number of other changes were noted on SteamDB, such as Steam Achievements, Full Controller support, and even Steam Cloud support. Fans have noted that this potential release date puts the game in the same window as God of War: Ragnarok, which only puts more pressure on Sonic Frontiers. That being said, fans should wait until an official announcement from Sega to see if these concerns are valid.
Sonic Frontiers is scheduled to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: SteamDB