Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, will assume a new position as an executive at Sega of America, as Sega Sammy Holdings reported last Tuesday in a statement to investors. Specifically, this figure so relevant to the study behind the main video games starring Sega’s fast blue hedgehog will be part of the ranks of Sega of America as creative director of Sonic from next April 1. At this time, it is unknown if this new position will affect Iizuka in his current role in Sonic Team, as well as the immediate consequences of his new position.
Iizuka has been working on the Sonic series since the early 1990s, a time when he worked as a designer on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for Sega Mega Drive. Subsequently, he helped found Sonic Team USA, and in later years he led titles like Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes y Shadow the Hedgehog.
Iizuka himself assured that, despite what a good year 2022 was for the hedgehog thanks to the launch of Sonic Frontiers and the theatrical release of Sonic 2: The Moviein addition to the animated series for Netflix called Sonic Prime y Sonic Origins, a compilation of classic installments, 2023 will be a year full of surprises for fans of the character. For now, we know that Sonic Team is preparing a good handful of content that will come to Sonic Frontiers completely free of charge throughout the year, including a new story in which we can control other characters.
The new Sonic in 3D is already in development