SEGA reacquires rights to the ‘Olympic Games’ license

In alignment with pretty much every major Olympic event over the past decade plus, SEGA had released an entry in the crossover ‘Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games’ series. That said, it was confirmed last year that SEGA no longer held the licence for games based on the Olympics. In a welcome surprise, Sonic himself has now confirmed that the license is back in the hands of SEGA.

Making the unexpected announcement via BlueSky, the official Sonic the Hedgehog page shared the following:

“We're going for the gold. We're excited to announce our upcoming ‘Olympic Rings’ licensing collaboration with the International Olympic Committee celebrating the Olympic Brand and Sonic the Hedgehog! Stay tuned for more info in 2026!”

For the uninitiated, an ex-developer at SEGA confirmed last year that the publisher no longer held the rights to make games based on the Olympics; with nWayGames releasing the PC/Mobile exclusive ‘Olympics Go! Paris 2024’.

Unlike SEGA’s efforts, ‘Olympics Go’ was a free-to-play title which included both microtransactions as well as NFTs – and so understandably the title was not very well received.

While we will have to wait and see whether Super Mario himself will choose to return to compete with Sonic, it is encouraging nonetheless to see the Olympics license having found its way back to where it belongs.

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KitGuru says: Did you miss the ‘Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games’ series? Will Nintendo play ball with SEGA once again? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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