New Sonic the Hedgehog Art Hints at 35th Anniversary Plans

Sonic the Hedgehog has a pretty big anniversary coming up, and it seems Sega is already making plans to celebrate. The original game in the series was released on Sega Genesis in 1991, which means 2026 will be the character’s 35th anniversary. It might seem a little early to start the celebrations, but Sega is clearly thinking ahead. As spotted by Sonic Stadium, a new logo has been revealed for the anniversary, as well as a new piece of never-before-seen art of the blue blur. Both of these were discovered thanks to a new calendar, which is now available to preorder on Amazon.

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The calendar itself doesn’t seem to be much to write home about. From the calendar’s Amazon listing, it looks like each month reuses art from past games in the series (Sonic Spinball appears in March). However, the cover features that previously mentioned logo, which features the head of Sonic and the Master Emerald with the words “35th Anniversary” emblazoned on it. As for the new piece of Sonic art, the hero can be seen giving a thumbs up while surrounded by the Chaos Emeralds. The Emeralds themselves feature reused artwork of multiple Sonic characters, including Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Eggman, Rouge, and Amy.

So what does this all mean? Nothing just yet, but it does show that Sega has some plans in place to commemorate the 35th anniversary. When Nintendo celebrated a similar occasion for Mario back in 2020, we got to see some new merchandise and game releases. It’s possible we could see the same from Sega when it comes to Sonic, but there’s really no way of knowing for sure. With this year’s Sonic games focused on racing and online multiplayer competitions, 2026 could be the year we see a follow-up to Sonic Frontiers, or another 2D game like Sonic Superstars.

Whatever Sega is planning, it will be interesting to see if Sonic’s 35th anniversary gets the level of fanfare it deserves. There are a lot of gaming franchises that don’t manage to reach this level of longevity, and there were various points where Sonic’s popularity significantly dropped off. However, the character has seen a major renaissance over the last few years, in large part due to the success of the Paramount movies. Sonic is back to being one of the biggest icons in gaming, and the character is popular among both younger fans, as well as those that grew up with the original Sega Genesis titles.

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Hopefully Sega will find ways to cater to both audiences as the anniversary approaches. There are a lot of fun ways Sega could mark the occasion outside of new games, including new merchandise like LEGO sets, toys, and more. Sonic fans still have a while to wait, but it’s nice to know Sega is already speeding ahead with its plans!

What do you want to see announced for the 35th anniversary of Sonic? Have you been a fan since the Genesis era? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!