New Sonic game getting free DLC characters

Sonic Frontiers will be getting three free DLC updates next year, one of which will add new playable characters to the game

Sega has revealed that Sonic Frontiers will be getting three major DLC updates next year, with the last one in particular offering something very exciting: more playable characters.

A Twitter post from the official Sonic the Hedgehog account revealed the content road map for the recently-released game, and detailed three big content drops due for the game in 2023. While we don’t have exact time frames for these updates, we do largely know what will be in them.

The first update, which is likely to be released at some point in the first half of the year, will add a jukebox to the game, which will presumably allow players to listen to music from the game’s soundtrack. It will also add a photo mode, letting players take photos of the world and the characters in it, as well as a selection of new challenge modes.

The second update will apparently include content celebrating Sonic’s birthday, which given the original Sonic the Hedgehog game released in June of 1991, we can probably expect the update sometime close to June. This one will also come with a new open zone challenge, which will task players with completing a particular challenge in one of the game’s open zones, as well as new Koco, one of the collectable creatures found in Frontiers.

The world of Sonic Frontiers is filled with Koco, little creatures scattered around that give benefits if you find them. Picture: Sega

The third update is the biggest and most exciting one. There’s no clue as to when this one will be out, but we’d wager it’s probably likely to be towards the end of the year. The third content update will feature new story content and new playable characters.

The image included in the tweet suggests that classic Sonic characters Tails, Knuckles, and Amy may all be playable, but unfortunately there’s no way of knowing if they’ll actually be playable, or if they’re just being used for illustrative purposes. Only time will tell.

Sonic Frontiers released to mixed reviews from both critics and fans, with some criticising it for its empty world, but others praising it for its solid gameplay. Picture: Sega

It was recently revealed that a new Sonic the Hedgehog show would be arriving this December. Sonic Prime is an all-new animated Sonic show releasing on Netflix. The show will feature Sonic alongside several fan-favourite characters like Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Rouge the Bat, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Eggman.

It’s not the only video game franchise getting adapted to a new format, however. Ubisoft classic Splinter Cell was revealed to be getting a surprising adaptation in the form of an eight-part radio drama for the BBC, featuring a stellar cast of voice actors including movie and TV star Will Poulter.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.