During our time at Tokyo Game Show 2024, we got the chance to sit down with Sonic Team Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka and Game Director Makoto Tase as they talked to us about Sonic Rumble, an upcoming mobile game scheduled to launch this winter for iOS, Android, and the recently announced PC version.

It’s a curious mix of the Sonic universe and the wacky multiplayer gameplay akin to Fall Guys, where 32 players aim to battle it out to be the top hedgehog.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Sonic Rumble Interview

Media: What makes Sonic Rumble stand out from other similar titles like Fall Guys and Mario Party?

Makoto Tase: “What makes Sonic Rumble distinct is that it’s… well, it’s Sonic! Sonic is distinct for its unique sense of speed and its overall smoothness of gameplay, and we wanted to create a party game that stood out in terms of the way the movement felt, the way that the action feels, and the competitive element where you take rings from each other.”

“One thing about Sonic is that we actually have a really robust lineup of stages to draw from because Sonic is a longstanding and appealing title. There’s a lot of stages from the series that we drew inspiration from.”

Media: How many stages have you prepared for the launch of Sonic Rumble?

Tase: “Currently, the game is available in a limited number of territories, and in that build of the game, there’s 35 stages available. When the game gears up for its global release, we will have around 40 available by then, and we will be creating even more after its launch this winter.”

Media: Could you talk about the decision to release Sonic Rumble on mobile first, since for titles like this, the overall health and success of the game relies heavily on its playing community?

Tase: “When the game launches this winter, the PC version will follow up soon. However, ultimately, one of the key reasons we chose mobile is because it’s a platform that’s available in many countries, and so that we could introduce the game to the biggest audience possible.”

Media: Can we expect other characters from other SEGA properties in Sonic Rumble?

Tase: “There will be a lot of characters from all around the Sonic Universe and we will try our best to incorporate as many of them as possible. Though we should mention that we will also be able to draw from SEGA’s other IPs, and we do have collaborations planned with third-party game companies as well.”

Iizuka: “It is not only a game company. There are many third-party companies that we will be partnering with.”

Media: Did you encounter any difficulty balancing the speed and combat elements of Sonic Rumble?

Tase: “One of the most interesting challenges we faced in making Sonic Rumble was bringing Sonic’s trademark speed into the game. As a party game, some might find it too fast compared to other party games, so one of the things that was key was capturing the overall feel of Sonic’s gameplay and getting his speed correct.“

“We really wanted to capture the essence of what makes Sonic, Sonic, in terms of the action: how you attack other players, his sense of high-speed movement, and more. It was an interesting challenge when balancing that with the needs of a party game.”

Media: Could you give us an overview of the customization options in Sonic Rumble?

Tase: “One of them is going to be skins, which lets you customize the visual appearance of your character. Alongisde that, you also have the ability to customize your emotes, a buddy partner character that follows you, the visual effects that follow your character, and even stickers.”

“At launch, we’ll have over 100 skins, without counting the emotes, buddies, and others. We hope that you look forward to seeing all of them in game.”

Media: Will there be a system that will prevent new players from being matched with top-rank players?

Tase: “We’ve taken consideration from separating beginner players from veteran players, and we are actively working towards creating other ways to filter and sort matches. However, one of the things that’s really important to us is making the game easy to play.”

“We wanted to make it so that there really isn’t a very strong gap between players in terms of skill level to be able to enjoy the game.”

Media: Did the team face any challenges translating the trademark sonic controls to a mobile device?

Tase: “It is admittedly difficult to translate to mobile something that’s traditionally done with a controller. One thing we prioritized was keeping the control simple and easy to understand for players, but one of the really interesting things we worked towards was creating a free camera movement system.”

“It was incredibly crucial to create a style of gameplay where it’s easy to focus on your movement as the camera moves around you. In the game settings you do have the option to elect for manual and automatic camera controls, so we’ll leave that for the players to decide.”

Media: Will there be any pay-to-win elements in Sonic Rumble?

Tase: “We really didn’t want to work in any pay-to-win elements in the game. You can say that it’s even our policy to not incorporate abilities that could create an unfair advantage for specific characters. We wanted to work in movements that make the characters distinct and that’s why just placed those signature “moves” into the character emotes. They’re meant for purely cosmetic purposes.”

Lastly, the team wanted to share a special message to the Southeast Asian players looking forward to Sonic Rumble.

Tase: “We know that many people in Southeast Asia love the Sonic series. Sonic Rumble is a bit different, but it’s a chance for them to play together, and we really hope players enjoy it when they play.”

Iizuka: “There’s admittedly a lot of Sonic content this year – films, animated series, games – to enjoy, and we hope that you guys continue to keep enjoying the Sonic series.”

We’d like to thank SEGA, Tase-san, and Iizuka-san for this opportunity.

Sonic Rumble is scheduled to launch this Winter.