Sonic Isn’t the Only Sega Franchise Turning 35 This Year

Sonic the Hedgehog won’t be the only Sega franchise celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2026, as made clear by the company’s recent Instagram post drawing attention to Puyo Puyo. The Sonic the Hedgehog series has achieved remarkable success, alongside some more controversial entries, over its soon-to-be 35-year lifespan. As the time draws closer to June 23, fans are debating what they want from the blue blur’s latest milestone, arguing for games, comics, or perhaps a cinematic release. Only time will tell what happens with the Sonic the Hedgehog series’ celebrations, but for now, Sega appears to want people not to forget about one of their other franchises, Puyo Puyo.

Puyo Puyo was originally released for the Famicon Disk System back in October 1991, taking the foundation laid by titles such as Tetris, and putting a childlike spin on the format. It wasn’t long before Sega, thriving from the success of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s release, provided an arcade version of the title, along with a port for the Sega Genesis the following year. Fast-forward to 1998, and Sega managed to acquire the rights from developers Compile, leaving Puyo Puyo a Sega franchise, and tasking Sonic Team with developing the titles. Today, Puyo Puyo has seen many successes, including Puyo Puyo Tetris, and an announcement trailer for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S a few months ago. Despite this legacy, it seems Sega has had to give everyone a reminder that it’s not just Sonic the Hedgehog celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

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Puyo Puyo’s 35th Anniversary Celebration Begins

With so many major game franchises’ anniversaries in 2026, Sega seems to want fans to remember the 35th anniversary of one of their most overshadowed series, Puyo Puyo. The post mentions the puzzle-match game’s huge milestone, along with a “Dairensa project,” in reference to the iconic phrase/mechanic from the games. This project has already begun with Sega sharing a key visual for the anniversary, a logo, and six new theme artworks, all building up to a teaser site for Puyo Puyo’s 35th anniversary. Fans seemed to be more than content with this information, with the consensus seeming to be surprise that Sega even remembered the anniversary. Further details are unclear, although fans should remain optimistic for future updates coming soon, as teased by the aforementioned post.

Following a habit of companies underplaying their franchises’ anniversaries, such as when Nintendo said they had no big plans for Zelda‘s 35th anniversary, it’s refreshing to see Sega take this approach with Puyo Puyo. Based on the fact that the Sonic the Hedgehog series has just had an extremely stylish video detailing the franchise’s history, Puyo Puyo fans can perhaps expect something akin to this, or of a slightly lower caliber. There is also a livestream on the Japanese Puyo Puyo YouTube channel, set to go live on February 1, 2026. It’s assumed this will address key information, along with providing fans with new teasers, celebrations, and perhaps even a new game announcement.

Sega has clearly planned out each of their franchises’ celebrations this year, giving Sonic the Hedgehog a stylish short video, and now Puyo Puyo a similar treatment. The roadmap of upcoming titles, such as Jet Set Radio coming back through a reboot, demonstrates Sega’s care for its forgotten franchises. This attention to fan-favorite series that many other companies would’ve perhaps left behind gives hope that Puyo Puyo‘s 35th anniversary celebrations won’t be disappointing, and clearly haven’t been forgotten. With the current rate and quality Sonic Team has been producing games for the blue hedgehog, it seems this puzzle-match series’ future is looking optimistic, with clear care being put in.