SEGA wants to take on a new challenge for Sonic’s 30th anniversary, mixed thoughts about eSports

2021 will be a big year for Sonic, as the character and the franchise as a whole will be turning 30 years old. According to Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka, the team wants to take on a new kind of challenge for the the series’ big milestone.

Iizuka shared that news in a recent interview with 4Gamer. During the same discussion, he was also asked about the possibility of Sonic crossing over into eSports territory. Given the nature of the main games, Iizuka believes it’s unlikely. Other genres may be a better fit for the idea, however.

Here’s the full exchange between 4Gamer and Iizuka:

4Gamer: Finally I’d like to ask about the future of the Sonic series. In 2021 it will be the series’ 30th anniversary. Do you have anything planned for that?

Iizuka: I think planning for that 30th anniversary will have to begin now. I’d really like for us to take on some sort of new challenge for it though.

4Gamer: With annual releases for the series it must be difficult to find time for something entirely original. eSports focused titles have become popular recently, so how do you feel about making a game for that audience?

Iizuka: I think there’s always the possibility… but Sonic will always be mainly an action-platformer, so going into that eSports arena might not be that feasible. But then I’m always willing to take on new genre challenges, like we did with the recent Team Sonic Racing. I think there’s always the chance that something suited to eSports might come out of those different projects.

SEGA announced earlier this year that the next mainline Sonic game is in development. No details have been shared about the project at this time.

Thanks to Corks for contributing to this post.