When Sonic Frontiers came out at the start of November, it received one of the better receptions from fans and critics of any 3D Sonic the Hedgehog title. In my review, I praised many elements of Sonic Team’s first “open-zone” attempt, but my main takeaway was, “I can’t wait to see how Sonic Team iterates on this formula in future entries.” While those future entries are likely years away, the developer today gave us a glimpse into how it plans to expand Sonic Frontiers throughout 2023 through a content roadmap.
The Sonic Frontiers 2023 content shows off a series of future content updates to the game. The three updates will roll out to players of Sonic Frontiers over the course of 2023 at no additional cost. While no timeline is given, it’s probably safe to assume that Update 2 will hit sometime around June 2023, given that June is the anniversary of the franchise and one of the key parts of that update is simply listed as “Sonic’s Birthday,” though there’s no indication of what that means.
However, before that all kicks off, players can expect a free Holiday Cheer Suit DLC (pictured above) for Sonic to sport as he runs through the Starfall Islands. That free DLC arrives on December 21.
You can see the full 2023 roadmap below.
Update 1
Juke Box
Photo Mode
New Challenge Modes
Update 2
Sonic’s Birthday
Open Zone Challenge
New Koco
Update 3
Playable Characters
New Story
Update 3 appears as though it will be most substantial as it not only promises new story elements, but also additional playable characters. While it’s not confirmed, the image sure seems to hint that those playable characters will be Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, though those character images could certainly be more closely tied to the story aspect of that update. However, I’m also excited to see the new Challenge Mode in Update 1, and the Open Zone Challenge and new Koco of Update 2.
Sonic Frontiers arrived on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on November 8. You can read our review here, or check out the game in action on both Xbox Series X and Switch through an episode of New Gameplay Today.
