Team veteran: Sega nearly retired Sonic before Paramount’s 2020 movie saved the franchise

It’s no surprise that three Paramount films did more for Sonic the Hedgehog’s survival than anything Team Sonic had shipped in the past decade or so. Things got so bad that Sega considered retiring its now 35-year-old mascot. Now, Sega is auspiciously celebrating Sonic’s 35th anniversary, a celebration that almost never happened.

A movie that instilled new life in a video game franchise

Sonic creative officer Takashi Iizuka told Geek Culture at the Tokyo Game Show 2026 that Sega’s leadership was about to give the signal to retire Sonic the Hedgehog before Paramount’s 2020 Sonic film reversed the decision.

For context, Paramount’s three Sonic the Hedgehog films have grossed a combined $1.2 billion since 2020. According to Sega Sammy’s own fiscal 2025 results, Sonic-branded licensing revenue skyrocketed by a staggering 140% year-on-year, and that doesn’t include box-office income.

As for the Blue Blur, no mainline Sonic game has been announced so far, and according to Sega’s official statements, the only Sonic media we’re getting is a fourth film slated for release on March 19, 2027.

An organization with different perspectives on its most iconic franchise

Takashi Iizuka has been one of the main minds behind the mainline Sonic games since 1992. During the Geek Culture interview at TGS 2026, he candidly talked about the series and how it finally reached its 35th anniversary.

Iizuka said:

“There have been good times and bad times, and during the worst of it, I was told by the higher-ups that we should cancel the entire franchise. I had to fight within the organization to keep it going for as long as possible, and the biggest milestone for me was the first movie in 2020, which was a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise.”

While transmedia profits have skyrocketed, with the Blue Blur appearing in a fourth movie and a new Netflix adaptation that bolster the series’ mainstream popularity, Sonic will always be a gaming-first IP.

On this, Iizuka stated:

“The franchise itself is rooted in video games. We’re just going to base everything upon the video games. That’s our core principle.”

Despite this, the anniversary interview never mentioned a new mainline Sonic game, and nothing is confirmed on the console side either. For now, Sonic lives on through movies and animated shows.