Sega's Recent Sonic Games Fall Short of Sales Expectations
Sonic The Hedgehog continues to shine on the big screen, but his latest video game ventures have not met Sega's financial targets. According to the company's recent financial report covering October to December 2025, both Sonic Rumble and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, released in 2025, underperformed in sales. While these titles are not considered mainline entries, Sega had higher hopes, as indicated in the report, which states that 'both new titles and repeat sales performed below expectations' across all full-price games.
Broader Sales Challenges and Upcoming Releases
During the same period, Sega launched two full-price games: Persona 3 Reload on the Nintendo Switch 2 and Football Manager 26. The free-to-play title Sonic Rumble specifically fell 'short of expectations' on 'various KPIs, particularly customer acquisition'. In a prior report, the company noted that the 'initial performance' of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds 'did not meet our expectations'. Despite this dry spell, Sega is gearing up for a significant turnaround, planning 'to release four major new titles for mainstay IPs' before the end of the next financial year on March 31, 2027.
Anticipated Games and Media Expansions
While Sega has not specified the exact games or what qualifies as a 'mainstay IP', industry experts have made educated guesses. Persona 4 Revival is the most concrete, having been announced and expected this year. Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is another possibility, though undated, with a potential release this year. Stranger From Heaven from Like A Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio might not fit the 'mainstay IP' category if unconnected to the Yakuza universe.
The most reliable assumption is a major Sonic game, likely a sequel to 2022's Sonic Frontiers, which has been rumored for some time. Other possibilities include reboots of classic games announced in 2023, such as Shinobi, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Streets Of Rage, and Golden Axe, with only Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance released so far. A sequel to Alien: Isolation is in development but not expected soon.
Beyond gaming, Sega is expanding into multimedia with plans for movies and TV shows based on its IP. These include Sonic The Hedgehog 4, OutRun starring Sydney Sweeney, an animated Golden Axe series, a House Of The Dead movie, a Streets Of Rage movie, and films based on Shinobi and Eternal Champions.
