Sonic Team Wants To Work With Sonic Mania Devs Again

Sonic Mania 2 Isn't As Impossible As We All Thought Published Aug 30, 2026, 9:04 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Sign in to your TheGamer account Sonic Team head Takazhi Iizuka has shared a surprising thought about a possible Sonic Mania 2, noting that it’s “not off the books” and could eventually happen. I’m not going to bore you with the stock "Sonic had a rough few years” speech that we’ve all heard a million times before, but I think it’s notable that Sonic Mania was one of the first true signs of a resurgence that we got. Christian Whitehead and his team’s take on classic Sonic is up there as one of the best games in the whole series. Combine that star status with strong sales, and you’d think that we’d already have Sonic Mania 2 by now. That strangely never ended up happening, and everyone’s been left wondering if the series has a future at all. Sonic Team is usually pretty quiet about those kinds of questions, but that’s just changed in a recent interview. Sonic Mania 2 Isn’t In The Works Right Now, But It Could Be Eventually I’ll Take That Hopium As pointed out by Nintendo Everything, Game Informer recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Sonic Team head Takazhi Iizuka. During that chat, Iizuka was asked about the developers' relationship with the Sonic Mania team, which led Iizuka to comment on potentially working with them again. Iizuka said that Sonic Team is still “really close” with the Mania developers, and that they have a lot of projects they’re currently working on. While there’s nothing in the works right now, Iizuka notes that there’s “definitely a desire to want to work with them again” and that they could “make a great game”. It’s not the most definitive answer in the world or anything, but it does confirm that Sonic Team is up for working with Whitehead again, which is the most we’ve heard about the possibility to date. Mania 2 isn’t explicitly mentioned by Iizuka, but it would surely be what the two work on together, especially since it’s what literally everyone wants to happen. Sonic Mania Released August 15, 2017 ESRB E For Everyone due to Mild Cartoon Violence Developer(s) PagodaWest Games, Headcannon Publisher(s) Sega