Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, like Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing before it, contained a number of characters from outside the Sonic universe. Wreck-It Ralph, Football Manager Man, and others all battled for racing supremacy with the titular blue hedgehog and his friends, but the next game in the series, Team Sonic Racing, eschews these supplementary characters.

　　"The reason we [dropped non-Sonic universe characters]," explains Sumo Digital's studio design director, Derek Littlewood, "was so we could dive into the Sonic universe in more depth, and tell a canon Sonic universe story, with our team adventure mode. That was very important for us.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - Loadout

　　Firearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Seonhee Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Koichi Adachi Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: Team Sonic Racing - 8 Minutes Of New Gameplay

　　"It was a difficult decision for us, but we feel like that was the right direction to go in. Because it's allowed us to create a very new kind of unique experience for Team Sonic Racing that I think people won't have had with the previous titles."

　　The move has other advantages, too. Ben Wilson, designer on Team Sonic Racing, says it has made team interaction more viable: "Because this game's set in a universe with characters who have relationships already, it's let us do a dialog system where they're on track and they're yelling at each other, and they have familiarity with each other and make references to history, which we wouldn't have been able to have done really [had other franchises' characters been present]. Or at least, not in as smooth a way. So it's let us do some additional stuff as well."

　　Later in the interview, Littlewood says many members of the Sumo team are "old-school Sega fans [who] are really keen to continue doing the All-Stars aspect of the game." When pressed by GameSpot on whether there's more All-Stars content in the pipeline, Littlewood was coy: "There's nothing we have to announce, or even anything that is currently on the cards. But it's something that we would love to be able to go back to."

　　Team Sonic Racing launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on May 21. For more, check out our feature on how, with Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart Tour also on the way, kart racers are making a comeback. You might also be interested in the new Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie trailer.