Sonic Team is a Japanese video game development division ofSega. The initial team was composed of developers from Sega's Consumer Development division, including programmerYuji Naka, artistNaoto Ohshima, and level designerHirokazu Yasuhara. The team took the name Sonic Team in 1991 with the release ofSonic the Hedgehog for theSega Genesis. The game was a major success, and started the long-runningSonic the Hedgehog franchise.
The next several games were developed by Naka and Yasuhara in America atSega Technical Institute. In late 1994, Naka returned to Japan to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D #8. During this time, the division was branded with the Sonic Team name but also developed games that do not feature Sonic, such asNights into Dreams (1996) andBurning Rangers (1998). Following the release ofSonic Adventure in 1998, some Sonic Team staff moved to the United States to form Sonic Team USA and developSonic Adventure 2 (2001). With Sega's diversification of its studios, R&D #8 became Sonic Team in 2000, with Naka as CEO and Sonic Team USA as its subsidiary. Sega's financial troubles led to several major structural changes in the early 2000s, the United Game Artists studio was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA in 2004. AfterSammy Corporation purchased Sega in 2005, Sonic Team was restructured to become Sega's GE1 research and development department, and later, CS2. As of 2019,Sonic Team is a team within CS2.
In addition to theSonic series, the company has developed other games for Sega, such asNights into Dreams (1996) andBilly Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003).[1][2] The 1991 release ofSonic the Hedgehog is considered significant in video game history, as it increased theSega Genesis's sales and Sega displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company.[3] Some Sonic Team games, such as theSonic games andNights, are considered among thegreatest of all time.[4][5]
On this list, games are gathered that are either on the official Japanese Sonic Team website or titles where it is officially mentioned that Sonic Team is involved. The website of Sonic Team has not been updated since 2015.
| Game | Platforms | Release date | JP | NA | PAL | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic the Hedgehog | Sega Genesis | June 23, 1991 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | [6] | |
| Nights into Dreams | Sega Saturn | July 5, 1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | [7] | |
| PlayStation 2 | February, 2008 | Yes | No | No | Supervisor | Port developed by Sega Studios China | ||
| Xbox 360 | October 5, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| PlayStation 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic 3D Blast | Sega Genesis | November 7, 1996 | No | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withTraveller's Tales | ||
| Sega Saturn | November 20, 1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Special Stages developed by Sonic Team | |||
| Sonic Jam | Sega Saturn | June 20, 1997 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Sonic R | Sega Saturn | November 18, 1997 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withTraveller's Tales | ||
| Windows | November 11, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Burning Rangers | Sega Saturn | February 26, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Sonic Adventure | Dreamcast | December 23, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| GameCube | June 17, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titledSonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. | |||
| Windows | December 18, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure | Neo Geo Pocket Color | December 4, 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed by SNK | |
| ChuChu Rocket! | Dreamcast | November 11, 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Game Boy Advance | March 21, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Space Channel 5 | Dreamcast | December 16, 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Originally developed by United Game Artist | Retroactively credited, United Game Artist staff merged into Sonic Team in 2003 | |
| Samba de Amigo | Arcade | December 1999 | Yes | Yes | No | Developer | ||
| Dreamcast | April 27, 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Phantasy Star Online | December 21, 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Windows | December 20, 2001 | Yes | No | No | Enhanced version subtitledBlue Burst, which includes a new exclusive episode, released in 2004. | |||
| GameCube | September 12, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titledPhantasy Star Online Episode I & II. APlus enhanced version was later published. | |||
| Xbox | April 15, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titledPhantasy Star Online Episode I & II. | |||
| Sonic Adventure 2 | Dreamcast | June 19, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed by Sonic Team USA | ||
| GameCube | December 20, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titledSonic Adventure 2 Battle. | |||
| Puyo Pop | Game Boy Advance | October 18, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Caret House | First game developed after acquiring thePuyo Puyo IP from Compile | |
| Rez | PlayStation 2 | November 22, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Originally developed by United Game Artist | Retroactively credited, United Game Artist staff merged into Sonic Team in 2003 | |
| Space Channel 5: Part 2 | PlayStation 2 | February 14, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sonic Advance | Game Boy Advance | December 20, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| Sonic Mega Collection | GameCube | November 10, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Games were compiled by VR-1 Japan | |
| PlayStation 2 | November 2, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titledSonic Mega Collection Plus. | |||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Advance 2 | Game Boy Advance | December 19, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| Sonic Pinball Party | Game Boy Advance | June 1, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Jupiter | ||
| Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | GameCube | September 23, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Puyo Pop Fever | Arcade | November 26, 2003 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer withMileStone Inc. | ||
| PlayStation 2 | February 4, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | Developer | |||
| Dreamcast | February 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| GameCube | February 27, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Xbox | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
| Mac OS X | June 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| Game Boy Advance | July 24, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | ||||
| Windows | September 24, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | ||||
| Pocket PC | October 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
| Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution | GameCube | November 27, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sonic Battle | Game Boy Advance | December 4, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sonic Heroes | PlayStation 2 | December 30, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed by Sonic Team USA | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Astro Boy | PlayStation 2 | April 18, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withTezuka Productions | ||
| Sonic Advance 3 | Game Boy Advance | June 7, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| Sega Superstars | PlayStation 2 | October 22, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Feel the Magic: XY/XX | Nintendo DS | November 16, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sonic Gems Collection | PlayStation 2 | August 11, 2005 | Yes | No | Yes | Games were compiled by VR-1 Japan | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| The Rub Rabbits! | Nintendo DS | October 20, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Shadow the Hedgehog | PlayStation 2 | November 15, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed by Sega Studios USA | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Rush | Nintendo DS | November 15, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| Puyo Puyo Fever 2 | PlayStation 2 | November 24, 2005 | Yes | No | No | Developer | ||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2005 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| Sonic Riders | PlayStation 2 | February 21, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withNow Production | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | November 17, 2006 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Jukugon | PlayStation Portable | July 13, 2006 | Yes | No | No | Developer | [8] | |
| Phantasy Star Universe | PlayStation 2 | August 31, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | [7] | ||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox 360 | October 25, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Mind Quiz: Your Brain Coach | Nintendo DS | September 14, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) | Xbox 360 | November 14, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| PlayStation 3 | December 21, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | December 14, 2006 | Yes | No | No | |||
| PlayStation 2 | March 21, 2007 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Wii | July 26, 2007 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games | Wii | November 22, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed bySega Sports R&D | |
| Nintendo DS | January 17, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Sonic and the Secret Rings | Wii | February 20, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Onsei Kanjou Sokuteiki: Kokoro Scan | Nintendo DS | August 16, 2007 | Yes | No | No | |||
| Sonic Rush Adventure | Nintendo DS | September 13, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams | Wii | December 13, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Developed by Sega Studios USA | |
| Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity | PlayStation 2 | January 8, 2008 | No | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with O-Two | ||
| Wii | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Phantasy Star Portable | PlayStation Portable | July 31, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withAlfa System | ||
| Sonic Unleashed | PlayStation 2 | November 18, 2008 | No | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps, O-Two | ||
| Wii | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||||
| Xbox 360 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||||
| PlayStation 3 | December 9, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Sonic and the Black Knight | Wii | March 3, 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games | Wii | November 5, 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed bySega CS2 | |
| Nintendo DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Puyo Puyo 7 | Nintendo DS | July 30, 2009 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer withh.a.n.d. | ||
| PlayStation Portable | November 26, 2009 | Yes | No | No | ||||
| Wii | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I | Wii | October 11, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| PlayStation 3 | October 12, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Xbox 360 | October 13, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Sonic Free Riders | Xbox 360 | November 4, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with O-Two | ||
| Sonic Colors | Wii | November 11, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Nintendo DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||||
| Nintendo Switch | September 7, 2021 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withBlind Squirrel Games | Includes more content, titledSonic Colors Ultimate. | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Wii | November 15 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed bySega CS2 | |
| Nintendo 3DS | February 9 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | July 14, 2011 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer withh.a.n.d. | ||
| PlayStation Portable | December 15, 2011 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with O-Two | |||
| Wii | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | No | No | Co-developer withh.a.n.d. | ||||
| Sonic Generations | PlayStation 3 | November 1, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Xbox 360 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | November 3, 2011 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Nintendo 3DS | November 22, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | |||
| PlayStation 4 | October 25, 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Includes more content, titledSonic X Shadow Generations. | ||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Nintendo Switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II | PlayStation 3 | May 15, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||
| Xbox 360 | May 16, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games | Wii U | November 8, 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed bySega CS2 | |
| Sonic Lost World | Wii U | October 18, 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withDimps | ||||
| Windows | November 2, 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | |||
| Puyo Puyo Tetris | PlayStation 3 | February 6, 2014 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with O-Two | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | No | No | |||||
| PlayStation Vita | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Wii U | Yes | No | No | |||||
| Xbox One | December 4, 2014 | Yes | No | No | Developer | |||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Nintendo Switch | March 3, 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Windows | February 27, 2018 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric | Wii U | November 11, 2014 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Developed by Big Red Button | |
| Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal | Nintendo 3DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed by Sanzaru Games | |||
| Sonic Runners | Mobile | February 25, 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Hardlight | Discontinued on July 27, 2016.[9] | [10] |
| Sonic Mania | Windows | August 15, 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervision | Developed by Christain Whitehead, PadogaWest Games and Headcanoon | |
| Nintendo Switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Forces | Windows | November 7, 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | [11] | |
| Nintendo Switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sakura Wars | PlayStation 4 | December 12, 2019 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Sega CS2 | Developed the battle portion, and lent the Hedgehog Engine 2 | [12] |
| Sonic Origins | Nintendo Switch | June 23, 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Games ported by Headcannon and Christian Whitehead | [13] |
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Frontiers | Nintendo Switch | November 8, 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | [14] | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Superstars | Nintendo Switch | October 17, 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer withArzest | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Shadow Generations | Nintendo Switch | October 25, 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Racing Crossworlds | Nintendo Switch | 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| Video game consoles | ||
| Portable devices | ||
| Dual systems | ||
| Licensed consoles | ||
| Online gaming services | ||
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| Amusement venues | ||
| Related | ||
