Sega has officially announced that Sonic Origins is set to launch on June 23, 2022. This news was revealed with a trailer showcasing special animation created for the compilation title as well as promising gameplay. The collection looking so sharp may come as no surprise to fans, as Headcannon, one of the main developers for Sonic Mania, played a role in Sonic Origins' development.Sonic Mania is unique in that it's one of the very few Sonic games not made directly by Sonic Team or any of Sega's subsidiaries. While this may be concerning for most other video game franchises, Sega made sure its mascot was in good hands. Sonic Mania was developed by Pagoda West Games alongside Christian Whitehead and Simon "Stealth" Thomley of Headcannon, with the latter two having a history of working on Sonic fan games.Following the announcement of Sonic Origins, many fans wondered just who was developing the remasters seen in the compilation, and Headcannon quickly revealed its involvement. What once was a one-man endeavor on previous Sonic projects, the company has now evolved into a full team of independent contractors that Stealth personally brought on to develop the Origins version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Stealth mentioned in a few posts on social media that the games found in Sonic Origins aren't new to the compilation, but rather enhanced versions of the previous remasters made for mobile devices, including the remastered Sonic CD that made it onto consoles by itself. However, the CD remaster was spearheaded by Christian Whitehead. The Australian developer stated that his previous work can be found in the collection, but has also said Headcannon has "carried the torch" to finish the Classic remasters by itself.
While it may be a bit disappointing for some to hear that the versions of the beloved Sonic games aren't new to the collection, this is still great news for some fans. These versions of Sonic 1, 2, and CD were received incredibly well by fans. It's this positive response that led to the same developers being brought on to create Sonic Mania. Sonic Origins also marks the first time Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been rereleased in years, let alone remastered, which may excite fans on its own.
Even without fully new ports of these games, Sonic Origins still has plenty of new features that may keep previous players excited, such as Anniversary Mode with infinite lives, as well as missions and leaderboards. This is also the first time these remasters have made it to consoles altogether, which may add to the Classic Sonic experience in a much better way than simply playing on a mobile device could.
Sonic Origins is set to release June 23 on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.