The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is SEGA’s amazing playable April Fools’ prank

SEGA surprised fans everywhere with the release of The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, which is both a fully-playable game and an April Fools’ Day prank.

Sonic The Hedgehog is one of gaming’s most iconic mascots. Not only has he crushed it in the world of 2D platforming, but he’s seen success at the box office, and with the open-environment Sonic Frontiers title in 2022.

Sadly, he’s met a grim fate in the newest game in the franchise, and it’s up to the player to interrogate the crew and find out exactly what happened to the titular character. It’s a sillier take on the beloved franchise, but it’s a fully-realized game that’s downloadable via steam right now.

SEGA’s free Sonic the Hedgehog game

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was announced on March 31 without warning. The official Sonic Twitter account posted a gameplay trailer in sync with the release.

“The Sonic Social team proudly presents: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog! A brand new Sonic game. Available right now. On Steam. For FREE!” the announcement reads.

There was some skepticism around the release as the community questioned whether they were being duped or not, but various devs joined the conversation, revealing that this was in the works for quite some time.

“SURPRISE! I spent the past year producing and developing an actual Sonic game! This project has been nothing short of a dream come true and I’m so proud of it,” Software Engineer Michal Shafrir said. “We all put so much love into this game, I hope you try it out and let me know what you think!!”

The trailer shows off a mix of investigative work and a new take on Sonic gameplay, so anyone who has been missing that retro feel from the franchise can jump right into the mix, and they’ll have a troubling mystery to solve along the way.