Sonic Mania Plus’ New Content Won’t Be Free After All, Says Sega

Last week, we reported that Sega was expanding its Sonic Mania experience with a new Plus edition that introduced two new characters, an additional Encore mode and more to the game. And while some current fans were worried that they'd have to fork over extra cash for the bonus content, Sega, at the time, assured this wouldn't be the case.

But now it's apparently reversed course on that decision, as a report from SegaNerds indicates that we'll need to pay for the Encore DLC pack after all.

While this won't affect those that purchase the new retail version of the game that will be coming this summer, this will come as a bit of a blow to those that purchased the previous version of the game digitally, across PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

SegaNerds sent an email to the publisher asking for clarification, and this is the response that it sent back: "For all gamers who purchased the original digital version of Sonic Mania on console and PC, an Encore DLC pack will be available for sale to access the new features, with more details to come at a later date."

Now, Sonic Mania Plus will sell for around $29.99, so if the DLC is priced at around $10, you'll be paying the same price as you would for the retail version, since Sonic Mania originally sold for $19.99 (unless you went all out for the collector's edition, that is). But it's kind of a bummer that Sega didn't make this point at the time of the initial announcement, as it got everyone's hopes up, only to bring them back down again.

Sega will provide further details on the cost of the Encore DLC at a later time, but, again, we're hoping that it won't go past $10, because that would be bad news for the speedster.

If you prefer, the Sonic Mania Plus physical edition will have plenty of goodies for Sonic devotees, including a 32-page collector's artbook, a reversible Sega Genesis cover and holographic packaging. It'll be released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch this summer. Digital versions of this version will also be available for each system, along with PC.