If you want to legally play retro games in the Sonic series, Sega is taking away a lot of your options in the lead up to the launch of Sonic Origins. With just a handful of exceptions (all of them on Nintendo Switch), Sega plans to delist all digital versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD.
All four games will be removed from digital storefronts on May 20, the day of the Sonic Origins release date, as Sega has announced in a press release. The Sega Ages versions of Sonic 1 and 2 will still be available on Nintendo Switch, as will the version of Sonic 2 available on the Switch Online Sega Genesis app.
Sonic Origins looks like it will be a great collection of classic Sonic games, developed with assistance from the folks behind the superb Sonic Mania. Yet fans have been confounded by every announcement surrounding the collection, including its price, its messy selection of pre-order bonuses, its inclusion of Denuvo DRM on PC, and now these delistings.
For now, you can still grab Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD on Steam. As we all know, it will be impossible to download these Genesis/Mega Drive games from anywhere on the internet once a Denuvo-protected version of them goes live.
