Skip to main content

Sonic Frontiers is getting new playable characters and story content next year

Sega revealed the roadmap of all the new content that’s coming to Sonic Frontiers in 2023. The company shared a graphic on the official Sonic Twitter account on Wednesday, showing three separate updates that will come with new features, modes, character skins, and other exciting new content throughout the year.

New modes, new Koco, new…playable characters!? More Sonic Frontiers content coming your way next year! pic.twitter.com/MoZ8Gtj4Ro

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) November 30, 2022

The first update will come with the Juke Box, Photo Mode, and new challenge modes that will further test your speed and strength as you come up against more powerful foes. The second update will be content themed around Sonic’s birthday in June, a new open zone challenge that appears to be a timed challenge, and new Koco to round up. The last update will give a brand new story to play through and allow you to play as Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose.

Recommended Videos

Before the new content comes out, though, you can download the free Holiday Cheer Suit DLC, which will have Sonic donning his iconic Santa Claus outfit from the Sonic Adventure era to spread holiday cheer across Starfall Islands. The Santa suit will be available on December 21.

Sonic wearing the Holiday Cheer Suit in Sonic Frontiers.
Sega

The new content roadmap for Sonic Frontiers comes on the heels of a collaboration with Capcom to bring Monster Hunter DLC to the game, which includes two costumes inspired by the series’ most famous monster, Rathalos, and a cooking minigame where you can roast barbeque on a spit. This surprise led fans to speculate that the game would have more content and collaborations in the future.

All three content updates are free to all Sonic Frontiers players at no extra cost. Details on the exact release date and specifics for each update will be revealed at a later date.

Cristina Alexander
Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…
Sega is putting all of its chips on the table with Sonic Frontiers
Sonic grinding on a rail.

Back in May, I wrote about how Sonic Frontiers miraculously avoided the controversial Sonic Cycle by keeping updates dry between its first teaser trailer and its official announcement trailer at The Game Awards last year. Now the game is less than two months away from release, and with the reveal of four more trailers, two alternative rock songs taking us back to 2007 (Vandalize by One OK Rock and I'm Here by To Octavia's Merry Kirk-Holmes), and Super Sonic making his triumphant return at the Tokyo Game Show, Sega seems confident that it will be a big deal for the franchise. Hell, I'm feeling more confident about this game than I ever felt for some of its predecessors. And that's saying something.

In fact, Sega is so sure about Sonic Frontiers that it's pricing the game at $60 -- or in the case of the Digital Deluxe Edition, $70 -- and putting it in direct competition with God of War: Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in November. It's a big gamble to go all in on, but also a sore point for some Sonic fans. Most current-gen AAA games are priced between $60 and $70 due to enhanced graphics, controls, and the engines they run on, but some have balked at Frontiers’ price tag not only because it's "too expensive," but because they can't remember the last time a Sonic game cost that much.

Read more
Yes, Sonic Frontiers intentionally reuses levels from previous games
sonic frontiers reusing levels cyberspace

During Gamescom, fans shared footage of the Cyberspace levels in Sonic Frontiers that featured similarities to levels from previous Sonic titles, such as the Windmill Isle in Sonic Unleashed. Now, Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, has confirmed that the similarities between Cyberspace and those classic levels are intentional.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Iizuka said that the Cyberspace levels are "digital expressions of the worlds in the memories of Sonic the Hedgehog." In other words, they're recreations of the memories of places that Sonic visited throughout his 30-year history, such as Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sky Sanctuary in Sonic 3, and even Radical Highway from Sonic Adventure 2. He even noted that some of those levels may get mixed together, as the Green Hill Zone Cyberspace level has the same level design as the Windmill Isle tutorial level from Unleashed.

Read more
Sonic Frontiers: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Sonic stares at a landscape in Sonic Frontiers.

Sonic Frontiers is the latest development from Sonic Team, and it's looking to be the biggest game the studio has ever released. First revealed during The Game Awards 2021, Sonic Frontiers is still shrouded in mystery -- but recent gameplay trailers have revealed some tantalizing new details. We've also learned that this installment will kick off the third generation of Sonic games, and future titles will follow in its footsteps.

From release date and gameplay to its storyline and multiplayer, here's everything we know about Sonic Frontiers.

Read more