Sonic Mania Plus Gets Release Date, New Trailer

A little while back, Sega confirmed a new expansion for its best-selling Sonic Mania game, which will introduce new modes, characters and more to the game. Today, it confirmed not only its release date, but also how much it would be to upgrade the current Sonic Mania to the new game, for those that already bought it.

The company confirmed that Sonic Mania Plus will release on July 17, and it'll set back new buyers $29.99. What's more, it'll be released both digitally and physically for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Now, for those that already purchased the game, you'll need to only pay $4.99 to upgrade your version with all the new goodies that are in store, via the Encore DLC pack. That's not nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be, so upgrading should be a cinch.

"Sonic Mania Plus builds off the momentum of one of the best platform games of 2017, Sonic Mania, introducing two new playable characters from past Sonic games, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel and an Encore mode that will provide a fresh look to familiar zones with new challenges and layouts for new and veteran players alike. Competition and Time Attack modes will receive an update allowing four player competitions, and ghost challenges for time trials. This content packaged in an all-new physical edition which will come with a 32-page collector's artbook, a reversible SEGA Genesis cover, and holographic packaging," the company noted in its press release. You can see that edition below.

And to further celebrate the arrival of the game, Sega also introduced a new trailer, featuring animation by Tyson Hesse and first gameplay from the Encore mode, along with the debut of two new characters -- Mighty and Ray! Along with the favorites from the original game, this should mix things up quite nicely.

And we're intrigued to try out this four-player mode, which should make speedruns a lot more interesting as different heroes make their way to the finish line. Last one there is a rotten Eggman!

So if you enjoyed Sonic Mania like we did last year, you'll definitely find this upgrade to be worth your time.

Sonic Mania is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.