- Peak Park President Shintarou Shimazu says there was “pressure” to make Sonic Peak Park
- He says Sega probably felt “risky” working with an independent company.
- Shimazu adds that he thinks “it even took guts”
Peak Park President Shintarou Shimazu has discussed the pressure of taking on Sega’s beloved Sonic franchise to create his indie crossover game. Sonic Peak Park.
Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026 following the game’s official announcement, Shimazu explained that it seemed “risky” for the small independent company to take on such a large intellectual property, and even for Sega to agree.
Shimazu went on to say, “It would be a lie to say that there is no pressure to take on this huge IP from this huge corporation,” but working with game director Shunsuke Miyake made the process easier because he and Miyake are close in age and played very similar games to Sonic as kids and grew up with the IP.
“Working with a big company like Sega as a small independent developer is a bit risky,” Shimazu said. “I’m sure Sega even had to have guts to say, ‘We’re going to give you our character and hope you do a great job.’
“But it was really being able to work with IIzuka-san.” [Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka] and say: ‘You’re not doing [a] Sonic the hedgehog game, you’re doing a Peak Park game, and we need to have Sonic inside to be like Sonic, but also be a Peak Park experience, so go out and make a really fun character, make a fun game, and use Sonic to have that great experience.'”
Sonic Peak Park It is scheduled to be released this year. In the same interview, Shimazu confirmed that players “don’t need to be super tough to be in this one.”
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