Sonic Frontiers to Receive Second Wave of Content Next Year; Franchise Co-Creator Indicted for Insider Trading

The developers at Sonic Team have some huge additions planned for the franchise’s latest game, Sonic Frontiers. Sonic head Takashi Iizuka said to Famitsu (via Gematsu) that the blue hedgehog-led franchise had its biggest year in 2022. Iizuka said, “This past year was the biggest year in Sonic history, including the release of the movie sequel, new titles Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers, and the Netflix animation Sonic Prime.”

Iizuka further mentioned that fans will receive more updates in 2023, with a second wave of content revolving around Sonic Frontiers and more. “We are preparing a second wave to keep the fans happy and maintain that momentum going into 2023. We already announced additional content for Sonic Frontiers, but there is a lot more outside of that, so please look forward to it,” shared Iizuka.

Sonic co-creator indicted for his role in insider trading at Square Enix

While success is on the cards for the Sonic franchise, the same can’t be said for its co-creator Yuji Naka. According to NHK, Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sasaki have been charged by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for insider trading. Prosecutors handling the case have shared that the duo had prior information about Square Enix developing a mobile spinoff title for Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier.

With this information in hand, Naka went on to purchase company stock worth ¥144.7 million ($1.09 million), as public announcement of the collaboration would skyrocket the stock’s price. Naka was working with Square Enix until 2021, before he was controversially fired before abhorrent launch of Balan Underworld.