Sega Files Mysterious New Sonic the Hedgehog Trademark

A trademark and logo for "Sonic & Friends" has been filed by Sega.

By Marc Deschamps

Sonic the Hedgehog fans have had a pretty exciting 2023 so far, and it seems that Sega is already making some kind of plans for the future. As noticed by @Genki_JPN, the company filed a trademark application for something called "Sonic & Friends" on June 23rd, and a trademark application for a logo on July 18th. At this time, it's unclear if this will be for a new game, or something else entirely. In the logo, the "O" in Sonic has been replaced by Sonic's head, and it has a sort of "chibi" quality to it.

Readers can see the new logo for themselves in the Tweet from @Genki_JPN embedded below.

On Twitter, many fans speculated that the "kiddie" nature of the logo could mean that this will be angled towards a younger audience. It's far too early to tell, but it would be a smart move on Sega's part. The character has plenty of options meant to appeal to all ages, and a game or show directly aimed at young children could help Sega reach a wider audience. Sonic the Hedgehog has seen a major renaissance over the last few years thanks to the live-action films, and it makes sense that Sega would want to build on that momentum.

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Hopefully Sega will reveal some information in the near future! Thankfully, Sonic fans have a lot to look forward in the coming months. In the fall, Sonic Superstars will offer a new 2D adventure inspired by the Sega Genesis era, while also offering new elements, as well. Fans that prefer 3D Sonic games can also look forward to new story content coming to Sonic Frontiers. Sega has not offered much in the way of details on that, but it will add new playable characters. Sonic Frontiers writer Ian Flynn has also teased that it "will be truly important." Last but not least, the second season of Sonic Prime released on Netflix earlier this month. That's a whole lot of Sonic content!

What do you think this trademark is? Do you think Sonic & Friends will be aimed at a younger audience? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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