And SEGA’s quiet clean-up of its games catalogue continues… It’s delisting Sonic the Hedgehog (1) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. While the company is yet to say it directly, the message is loud and clear. The latest updates and pop-up messages warn that their EOS is coming soon.
When is Sega delisting Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2?
Well, there is no exact date yet. But the in-game notices carry a blunt message. Both Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 have been updated with an End of Service alert. It says, “End of Service: Support for this game will be discontinued, but you can continue playing offline.”
So, even after their delisting, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 will still function offline for existing owners. Right now, the games are still available for download. And the best part is that the latest updates have removed ads and in-game purchases entirely.
These two mobile ports are the first two 2D Sonic titles which originally released on the Sega Genesis. They’ve been free on phones for a while as part of the Sega Forever collection. The irony is that games grouped under the Forever label are steadily vanishing.
Apart from Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, Sega has removed a ton of titles under Forever Classics since 2024. The list includes Super Monkey Ball, Sonic CD, Sonic 4 Episodes 1 and 2, Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Virtua Tennis, and Golden Axe.
Have you played the games?
Both Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 were rebuilt for mobile using the Retro Engine by Christian Taxman Whitehead and Simon Thomley. They ran at 60FPS and supported dynamic aspect ratios with widescreen presentation.
The games even let players use characters such as Tails and Knuckles in combinations not present in the original Genesis releases. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the games from the Google Play Store.
Also, read our news on Brain Test 5: Tricky Challenge.
