"With Sonic x Shadow Generations, we wanted to bring Sonic Generations to PS5 and PS4 while pairing a brand-new Shadow storyline to crossover with the original story. With Shadow’s portion of the title, players will get to know him more as a character and understand his motivations. It will create the ultimate celebration of Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic, and Shadow gameplay that all fans will surely enjoy."
- Takashi Iizuka
✦ Pre-order Bonuses
Physical Edition Pre-order bonuses
- Gerald Robotnik's Journal
- Sonic Adventure Legacy Skin
Digital Deluxe Edition bonuses
Holiday 2024 Release
- Additional Level for Shadow
- Additional Skin for Shadow
Day 1 Content
- Skill Points
- Extra BGM Pack
- Digital Artbook & OST
- Terios Skin
Sonic Jam Legacy Skin
if you sign up for SEGA's Newsletter and confirm your email address, you'll be given a code for a Sonic Jam-inspired skin when the game releases!
Release Date: October 25, 2024
"Generations of Stages" Stage Previews
posted on the various official social media accounts, we have a proper preview of stages, and music for; Final Chase, Bullet Station, and Kingdom Valley! the comparisons all show off the original versions of the stages, some set pieces are changed, but everything is mostly the same from what we can see
Anime Expo, July 2 Rumours
On May 14, on the Official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter Account announced there would be a panel hosted at Anime Expo, which would be focused around Shadow the Hedgehog and the upcoming Sonic x Shadow Generations. A preview for "Dark Beginnings" a prologue animation for Shadow's campaign in SxSG was also going to be shown off at the panel along with some fan questions being answered!
On Saturday, July 6, SEGA's Panel at Anime Expo was livestreamed to the AnimeExpo Twitch Channel, the panel went into depth about Shadow as a character, his motives, and more abt his relationship with Maria. Towards the middle of the stream, they previewed a short clip for Dark Beginnings and announced that it would be a 3 episode prologue, which will be done by Studio Gigex!
The preview of Dark Beginnings can be watched here on Youtube, uploaded by GamersPrey
GamesCageVODS has a full reaction to the live stream uploaded to Youtube as well. The Comminuty Q&A is at the end of the event (42:31 in the video).
One of the questions answered by Iizuka-san was about how in Final Hazard, the Final Boss Fight in SA2, Shadow says that the "Ultimate Lifeform" is actually Sonic. Iizuka says (paraphrased) that "because Super Shadow is losing energy while fighting, yet Super Sonic is still going strong, which is what caused him to think that out loud. But bcuz he (Shadow) doesn't die, he changes his mind 'it's me again!' (taking back the statement abt Sonic). It should be understood though that Iizuka wasn't the writer for SA2, so the intentions from Maekawa, the actual writer for SA2, could be different, and it's very difficult for Iizuka to answer certain questions on the spot, similar to the "SA2 Moon" question. Regardless, I think the answer is interesting in a way, yet also funny and not meant to be taken too seriously.
Rumours have been spreading due to the newest update to the SxSG website, which shows characters for each respective story within Generations. For the Sonic campaign we obviously see Modern and Classic Sonic, but in Shadow's section we have Shadow, and then a blank box labelled "Coming Soon...", many ppl think that this will be a second playable character in Shadow's campaign. It's more likely that the blank box is dedicated to Black Doom, or Maria... but information has yet to be released
Game Fest, and June 6 leaks
on June 6 2024, @MysteryLupin on twt posted information about Sonic x Shadow Generations; including the release date, box art, pre-order bonuses, and multiple images from both the original Sonic Generatiions campaign and the Shadow campaign! the game is set to release October 25, and retail for $49.99 USD
information regarding the release date, and MSRP were originally posted by Dealabs Magazine on their website, which were most likely presskit assets intended for Summer Game Fest
here we can see new chao in the background of Sonic's Birthday Party! this also may tie into the rumour that there'll be more content involving chao in the future (information posted by Midori)
and here we see Shadow grinding in a stage that hasn't had its location confirmed yet; it seems like Rail Canyon/Bullet Station from Sonic Heroes bcuz of how many rails there are next to Shadow, and the background being wood, steel, and red steel.
the image below of Shadow with wings was included alongside the other ones, but I originally kept it private when I updated the page regarding these leaks to keep it a surprise for others!
Shadow exclaims "I'll overcome every obstacle with this power!" as a pair of Black Arms-like wings sprout from his back. This is later confirmed to be related to the "Doom Powers" Shadow will acquire during the game, and were hinted at in the first Trailer from January with Shadow's eye.
for Summer Game Fest, we were treated to lots of new information regarding Shadow's campaign in SxSG, not only did SEGA release a new trailer revealing more stages but there was also a chance for those attending to play a demo of the Biolizard boss fight and Space Colony Act 1!
Bullet Station from Sonic Heroes, the next returning stage(s) shown off in the Summer Game Fest Trailer! Shadow is being chased by the Bullet Station train, equipped with spikes as it chases Shadow out of the station, followed by Shadow going deeper into Bullet Station and attacking some Egg Pawns. There's another scene later on showing more of Bullet Station, although it's in front of the same bull-horned Eggman emblem.
Kingdom Valley from Sonic '06, the other returning stage shown off in the Summer Game Fest Trailer! Shadow is seen grinding on air rails and dashing between the castle buildings, although no vehicles are shown.
(Information about Gameplay will be written here)
January, Rumors and eventual Announcement
I can't believe they actually called it that (love wins).
At the beginning of January 2024, rumors were spreading of a Generations remaster, which caused everyone to be worried about the possibility of the original Generations being delisted on Steam and causing problems with the modding scene. Which their worries were based on previous situations like with the 2D Sonic games being delisted on Steam once Origins released.
Rumors also began spreading of the new Generations Remaster also involving Shadow, with the title being Sonic x Shadow Generations.
People became more worried as Sonic Generation Steam Keys were suddenly listed as "unavailable" and Sold Out on third party websites and SEGA was also having a franchise sale for Sonic games, with Generations not being included in the sale; causing people to worry even more that Generations on Steam would be delisted next. Thankfully, this was not the case and Sonic Generations is still available to purchase.
Before the official Sony State of Play, nobody was sure if Shadow's campaign was going to be some kind of "encore mode" similar to Sonic Mania, or if Shadow was going to simply be a reskin of Sonic.
Finally, on January 31st, 2024; Sony's State of Play revealed the Sonic x Shadow Generations was fully revealed with Shadow getting his own campaign showing off new abilities and Black Doom returning as an antagonist.
As Shadow interrupts Classic and Modern Sonic's scene together, they do the iconic pose first seen in SA2B's intro, which is also references in Sonic Generations rival battle as well.
The song that plays during the Shadow Generations part of the trailer is Smash your Enemies by Tomas Herudek, which can be listened to in full on Youtube [here] SEGA is listed as one of the companies that has used his music, on his website as well.
Final Chase, the first area shown off and the first legacy stage confirmed in the Shadow Generations part of the announcement trailer. Smth I think abt when seeing this area is that the colours are nice; not as bright as the original SA2 textures, but not as dark as the Shadow the Hedgehog textures either so it feels like a nice in between.
We also see Shadow attacking enemies in the next scene, and his homing attack is similar to the one seen in both Shadow 05's cinematics and 06's gameplay, where he quickly teleports to enemies.
The next legacy stage shown off in the announcement trailer is Radical Highway, proof being the Chaos Cola sign that Shadow shown very briefly at the beginning of the scene after Black Doom's Eye flees.
I've heard some ppl wonder if this was Westopolis since we see Black Doom's Eye prior to this scene, but it also could be a mix of both somehow since they share a lot of set pieces.
When attacking the large bubbles during what is most likely a part of the Biolizard section of the trailer, there's after images as Shadow moves. You can also see this briefly when Shadow is kicking the satelite-looking item near the beginning, prior to Black Doom's Eye being revealed.
Two things in this scene! Firstly, during the Biolizard fight Shadow is firing a Chaos Spear; this is another ability from '06 being shown in Shadow Generations.
And the second thing, which you can see earlier during Final Rush also, is the hint circles! It's interesting seeing them here in the trailer.
Another thing that's really exciting to see is that there's extra cords hanging off the Biolizard that it can control similar to its tail, meaning there's more to watch out for during the fight most likely.
Everything known at the time of the January Trailer;
- Final Chase/The Ark, Radical Highway, and Cannon's Core (?) are shown in as returning areas
- Shadow can use Chaos abilities, like Chaos Spear, and Chaos Control; the description for Shadow's campaign says "never before seen powers" meaning there's going to be more abilities aside from what we seen
- the Biolizard is confirmed as a boss fight
- there's a new type of enemy, which are connected to the floating purple and black cubes seen in the trailer
- "When Shadow’s old nemesis, Black Doom, reemerges and threatens to take over the world" Sonic Wiki Zone & Steam Page (Web Archive) this means that, despite only seeing Doom's Eye, Black Doom will return
- "Sega will not reveal where the story of Shadow's campaign takes place, preferring that the players learn about it when the game comes out" - Ian Flynn, February 16th Q&A Podcast