Sonic Frontiers has sold 3.5 million copies, making it the most successful 3D Sonic game of all time. This figure is enough to overtake the last figure we got for Sonic Heroes, which had reigned supreme on the charts for almost 20 years.
This latest figure comes from Sega of Japan, speaking just after the company's acquisition of Angry Birds developer Rovio Entertainment. With this news, it's clear that Sega will be sticking with the Sonic Frontiers formula, having found much greater success with this new "open zone" gameplay than any of Sonic's previous offerings.
If Sonic Frontiers was considered a risk - with its move into the open world, new combat mechanics, and more muted tone - then it's clear that it's a risk that's paid off for Sega and Sonic Team.
Despite reaching this 3.5 million milestone, some rankings online still show Sonic Heroes as having sold more. However, this is likely guesswork, as Sega hasn't disclosed Sonic Heroes' sales figures since 2007 (thanks, Tails' Channel), and it's unlikely to have sold much more since then. In this case, Frontiers would sit comfortably in the lead for Sonic's 3D offerings.
With two more major updates to come, it's possible that Sonic Frontiers' success isn't over just yet. We just got an expansion that added a jukebox, camera mode, and new challenges. According to the roadmap, we can also expect a birthday celebration for Sonic in June. So far, we know this will include more to do in the open zone, and new Koco.
Despite this success, Sonic Frontiers isn't expected to beat the classic 2D Sonic games. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has apparently sold around six million copies, with the first game even said to have reached 24 million sales as of 2016, through its various re-releases. We're hardly expecting Frontiers to outperform these retro titans, but getting as closer to them than any other 3D game is quite the feat, especially when considering fan favourite 3D titles like Sonic Generations, Adventure, and Colors.
One thing we can say with a degree of certainty is that the next Sonic game will likely draw upon Frontiers for inspiration, rather than go back to the days of the pre-open world boost formula.
However, if a good critical reception is what Sega is going for, they need only look at The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. When it launched on April Fools Day, it quickly became the highest-rated game in the series on Steam. Not bad, for a free-to-play visual novel.