Generally speaking, Sega is a lot more tolerant of fan projects when it comes to their speedy blue boi than most other publishers and their mascots (cough Nintendo cough). In fact, sometimes Sega can get right on board with a fan project and turn it into a real game like Sonic Mania.
The recent release of a new episode for Sonic fan-game Sonic Omens seems to have gotten fans concerned that Sega might move to shut it down, but Sonic’s social media rep seemed to give tacit approval for the game yesterday on Twitter.
“Hey Sonic fans - I appreciate you all reaching out with concerns over fan games and monetization,” said MiniKitty, influencer and social media manager for Sega. “So long as no profit is involved, there is usually* no issue with y’all using our blue boy to hone your art and dev skills.”
MiniKitty clarified that not all content is okay, which is the legal equivalent of covering your butt. That said, it seems like Sega is giving tacit approval to Sonic Omens and other fan projects like it.
“Our goal isn’t to stifle everything,” MiniKitty added.
Sonic Omens has been in development for over a year and is being released in episodic format. It’s all being made in Unreal Engine 4, with fans providing voices to Sonic, Tails, and Eggman. And judging by the trailers, it’s maybe the best Sonic game since Sonic Generations. You can download the game over on GameJolt, including the most recent episode and all previous episodes.
It’s still perhaps a little too early to say whether Sega might make Sonic Omens into the next Sonic Mania, but if it’s happened once, it could happen again.
In the meantime, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (the movie, not the game) has some new photos that confirm Knuckles has been added to the cast. Unlike the first time Sonic was introduced to the silver screen, Knuckles seems pretty much the same as he looked in the video games, which is exactly how he should remain.
