On 12 November 2026, SEGA released Sonic the Hedgehog: Memories and Beyond, an animated short film of around 13 minutes made for Sonic's 35th anniversary. The first Sonic game came out on 23 June 1991 on the Mega Drive. The film can be watched for free on the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel, in English.

Sonic carrying Amy, surrounded by Shadow, Tails, Rouge and Knuckles, in the short film Memories and Beyond — Sonic, Amy, Shadow, Tails, Rouge and Knuckles in Memories and Beyond. © 2026 SEGA

Memories and Beyond: Sonic and his friends against Metal Sonic

In the lair of Dr Eggman, also known as Robotnik, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow and Rouge try to stop the scientist from using the power of the Chaos Emeralds to turn Metal Sonic into the ultimate fighting machine. SEGA describes the film as a story about the strength of friendship, which holds firm even in the most difficult situations. Roger Craig Smith once again voices Sonic.

Metal Sonic surrounded by flames in the short film Memories and Beyond — Metal Sonic in Memories and Beyond. © 2026 SEGA

The story is by Takashi Iizuka and the script by Ian Flynn. The animation is by GXS Productions, a studio that had already worked for SEGA on Sonic X Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings and on the animation for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, the racing game whose Year 2 began on 3 November. Announced earlier in the year, the project took around 12 months of work.

At the end of the short film, SEGA thanks fans for 35 years of memories and invites them to create more with the series. Metal Sonic will also appear in Sonic 4, the live-action film. Four of the heroes of Memories and Beyond, Sonic, Tails, Amy and Shadow, are brought together in a Funko pack released this year.

Funko POP 2026: Sonic, Tails, Amy and Shadow in one pack

The four figures in this pack are around 3.9 in (10 cm) tall and glow in the dark. Sonic holds a gold ring, Amy carries her hammer and Tails is mounted on a clear base.

The other Sonic POPs of 2026 range from Fang (#1172) and Mighty (#1174) to a flocked Shadow with the Emeralds (#1300), including a Halloween series in which Sonic dresses as a pirate (#1278) and Dr Eggman as a skeleton (#1279).

LEGO: Tails and his Cyclone mech against Metal Sonic (77002)

Released in 2025, the Cyclone vs. Metal Sonic set (77002) has 290 pieces and minifigures of Tails and Metal Sonic. Tails' mech has a cockpit, poseable legs and a turret with a stud shooter, and it switches to flight mode when its legs are folded forwards. A Chaos Emerald is hidden in its fuselage.

The 2026 LEGO Sonic sets range from Sonic's car from Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (77117) to Shadow's Mech vs. G.U.N. Trooper (77120), along with Tails' Tornado-1 (77119).