Sega to reimagine "several franchises” over the next few years

Earlier this week Sega made the surprise announcement that several classic game franchises will be making a comeback in the next few years.

A trailer shown during The Game Awards gave fans a glimpse at five games currently in development at the company, and no, none of them are Sonic The Hedgehog related as far as we know.

Check out the teaser trailer for the new Sega games below

All the projects are continuations of some of Sega’s most iconic series, including Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets Of Rage.

While these were the only five games shown, and very briefly we might add, the trailer did allude to more being on the way, all of which will be staggered for release over the next few years. It’s also worth noting that these aren’t remakes or remasters, these are all-new games.

Now Sega of America CEO Shuji Utsumi discussed what fans can expect from the company in the years to come, and it’s great news for old and new fans alike.

Shuji Utsumi said "We are digging into our legacy and reimagining several franchises to bring these games to more audiences around the globe. Today's announcement is just the start of our initiative.

The CEO went on to say “First and foremost, our ambition will be to create great games with memorable characters and worlds. We hope fans of all ages will look towards our future with anticipation as we release these projects in the coming years.”

It’s phenomenal news for fans of Sega’s IPs, many of which haven’t been touched in years despite their popularity. The promise of unannounced games is exciting too, as franchises like Alex Kidd or Virtua Fighter could potentially return alongside the others. I’m hoping for a sequel to Ristar personally.

The only thing Sega hasn’t been transparent about is the release dates. It’s unclear how early into development the current games are, though it’s a safe bet to say the earliest release for any of them will be 2025 and onwards.