Sega’s ‘Sonic Frontiers’ trademark seemingly corroborates open-world claims

Sega has filed a trademark for ‘Sonic Frontiers’, which looks likely to be the name of the next mainline entry in its flagship series.

The Japanese trademark for Sonic Frontiers was filed late last month, a listing on the country’s trademark body has revealed.

The timing may be significant, as the trademark was filed after it was claimed online that the next entry in the series would be called Sonic Frontiers and feature an open-world setup.

• Further reading: Sonic Origins release date / Sonic Origins level select codes | 2022 games

In May, Sega teased plans to release a new mainline Sonic game in 2022 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch and PC.

Based on metadata referencing files used in the production of Sega’s teaser trailer, it was previously suggested that the new series entry could be called ‘Sonic Rangers’.

However, on October 17— several days before Sega’s trademarks were filed—an anonymous leaker claimed (via Reddit) that the name of the game had been changed to Sonic Frontiers.

They also said it would be an open-world game similar in style to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka has said he’d like the game to have the same lasting impact as Sonic Adventure.

In a Sonic Stadium interview published in June, the franchise’s creative officer said he hoped the upcoming game would provide the building blocks for future Sonic titles for many years to come.

Further reading

Sonic Team boss hopes 2022’s game can be as influential as Sonic Adventure

Takashi Iizuka says the goal is to lay the foundation for future Sonic titles

“Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for 20 years of Sonic titles after its release, so in the same way I really hope that this new title releasing in 2022 lays the foundation for the following future Sonic titles – that is the idea behind the challenge for the team”, Iizuka said.

While not ready to detail the game, he added: “Since this title is still mid-development there is nothing I can speak to, but I did want to say that the development team has been spending their time to do something new and challenging.

“Through a lot of trial and error the team is looking to present to everyone a new Sonic game, and I hope your warm support of their work can motivate them to really deliver against that challenge.”