Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
In August 1999, SNK announced that they were collaborating with Sega to develop a "Sonic the Hedgehog" game for their Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld system. The game was developed by SNK, with supervision from Yuji Naka and Sonic Team at Sega. This marked the first time Sega was directly involved in the development of a "Sonic" game for a non-Sega platform. The team planned for "Sonic Pocket Adventure" to be a return to the classic 2D gameplay style found in the "Sonic" games on the Sega Genesis. In particular, many game design and visual elements are borrowed from "Sonic 2". The game's background music tracks are also 8-bit renditions of music from "Sonic 3". "Sonic Pocket Adventure" was released first in North America on December 4, 1999. SNK released a system bundle with the game included for the holiday season. The game was released in Japan two weeks later, and in Europe in February 2000.
Sonic Forces
"Sonic Forces" was announced alongside "Sonic Mania" under its codename during a twenty-fifth series anniversary event held by Sega at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2016. The presence of both Classic and Modern Sonic in the initial teaser trailer led some journalists to believe it was a sequel to "Sonic Generations", but Iizuka clarified that it was a separate game. The game was released worldwide on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in November 2017. Prior to the game's launch, Sega released a four-part prequel comic written and drawn by Ian Flynn and Adam Bryce Thomas, who previously worked on Archie Comics' "Sonic the Hedgehog" series. A bonus edition was also released containing controller skins and downloadable clothing items for the Avatar based on other Sega games, such as "Jet Set Radio", "Puyo Puyo", and "Persona 5". A tie-in racing game for iOS and Android devices, "Sonic Forces: Speed Battle", was released in select regions in September 2017. After the game's release, several updates featuring new content were released, such as an in-game shirt for the Avatar featuring "Sanic", an internet meme of a poorly drawn Sonic, and the ability to transform into Super Sonic. The Super Sonic DLC was released for free, but was initially planned as paid DLC.