Last year, during the Sonic Central presentation that saw the initial reveal of Sonic Frontiers, Sega revealed that a new collection of classic Sonic the Hedgehog games is in development for modern platforms. Dubbed Sonic Origins, the collection will include all of the classic Sega Genesis titles including Sonic 3 & Knuckles, a game that has been absent from many recent collections in recent years. While the game has finally been announced by Sega, tons of new information has leaked in recent days regarding Sonic Origins, including the biggest one of all now which has come from the Australian PlayStation Store.
Sonic Origins was first briefly teased during the Sonic Central event, however, the reveal left little to no impression among fans as the footage shown during the presentation was not from the collection itself, instead featuring footage from numerous ports of the classic Genesis titles. Later it was confirmed that the versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic CD, will be based on the mobile ports handled by Christian "The Taxman" Whitehead, which many fans have praised as being the definitive editions of the classic titles. Sega later revealed that the Sonic Origins version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles will feature widescreen support, in line with the other Taxman versions of the Genesis games.
While the compilation was originally intended to launch alongside the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film, it seems Sega was unable to hit this initial targeted release date. It seems that the wait for the game will not be much longer however, as a PlayStation Store listing in Australia has revealed that Sonic Origins will reportedly release on June 22nd, which was confirmed today in the trailer. That's just a day before the 31st anniversary of the first game in the series.
The listing and trailer also confirmed that the game will include "Classic" and "Anniversary" modes, with the classic mode representing the games in their original forms, at their original resolutions and aspect ratio, while anniversary mode will bring the quality to 16:9 aspect ratio and introduce an infinite lives feature. Each game will also receive new animated openings and endings, in the style of Sonic Mania.
The listing also mentions that the game will feature a mission mode similar to Capcom's Mega Man Legacy Collection series. This mode will allow players to collect coins (not rings) to use in the game's museum mode, which will include new challenges and Special Stages. Sega has claimed in the past that the combined version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles will be included too. The listing finally mentions that physical PS4 owners will be able to upgrade to the PS5 digital version, implying that a physical release of Sonic Origins is also planned.
Sonic Origins will release on June 22nd 2022, platforms have yet to be announced.