Sonic Superstars is being developed by Arzest Studio, which is run by original Sonic the Hedgehog creator Naoto Ohshima. Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka confirmed Ohshima and Arzest’s involvement with Sonic Superstars when speaking to VGC in a new interview.
During Summer Game Fest 2023, Iizuka revealed SEGA originally intended on collaborating with Christian Whitehead, the developer of Sonic Mania. However, plans fell through with Christian Whitehead. Neither Christian Whitehead or Headcannon are involved with Sonic Superstars. Instead, Iizuka approached Naoto Ohshima since he is an old coworker and asked if he would like to make a Sonic game together.
Iizuka explained that Ohshima brings his classic Sonic experience to Sonic Superstars, and he’s beneficial to the project due to his understanding of developing a true classic Sonic game. The choice was clear to proceed with Naoto Ohshima and Arzest for development of Sonic Superstars. Moreover, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 composer Jun Senoue and Sonic Mania composer Tee Lopes are working on music for Sonic Superstars.
Sonic Superstars Developer Comments
“I’m friends with a lot of my old coworkers and I was having a conversation with Ohshima-san about how we should make a Sonic game together and if he’d be interested,” Iizuka said in the VGC interview. “He’s the original creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, and so we had a conversation about whether his company Arzest would be interested in working on a Sonic game
Iizuka added, “So there were ideas with Chris and the team that fell through. Sonic Superstars is really all developed by Arzest, but Sonic Team in Japan is working with them on design and some other elements. Arzest and Ohshima-san are 100% developers of the game.”
Sonic Superstars players will be able to control Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose across various new stages. These characters may harness all-new Emerald powers to move and attack in “dynamic new ways.” Once more, Sonic and his crew must stop Dr. Eggman’s sinister plans, and the villain is added by Fang and a mysterious new villain. Players may enjoy Sonic Superstars by themselves or with up to 3 other players.
Lastly, Sonic Superstars launches in fall 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
