These pixel art comments may be shocking to some Sonic fans, given the wild success Sonic Mania gained when it first released six years ago, selling more than 1 million copies worldwide.

Sonic the Hedgehog Boss Says Pixel Art Won’t be “Viable” in the Future Takashi Iizuki doesn’t see a future for games that look like Sonic Mania.

“We look at the pixel art – it’s great – but when we think about 10-20 years in the future, we don’t think it’s going to be a viable art style or presentation for our players.

The classic Sonic the Hedgehog series began as a 2D side-scroller with pixel art, and while it has seen updates to its gameplay and design, it will always have a connection to the older aesthetic.

Previous Sonic games with a pixel art style reminiscent of the Genesis games have generally been better-received than their 3D counterparts, with titles like 2017's Sonic Mania and 2018's Sonic ...

Sonic Superstars, the new 2D Sonic platformer from Sega coming out later this year, looks a lot like a fresh take on the famous blue blur. It ditches pixel art for a cartoony new visual style that ...

Sonic Superstars is an exciting return to the Blue Blur's 2D origins, but its new art style exists because its developers don't think the classic pixel art approach will be "viable" in future.