Skip to main content

Sega Forever collection brings free classic Genesis games to iOS and Android

SEGA Forever launch trailer (English)
With the exception of perhaps only Nintendo, Sega has one of the strongest back library of games of any major publisher. Numerous classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, and third-party games like Road Rash arrived first to Sega’s consoles, but a new generation of gamers may have missed out on the chance to play these games. That will soon change with Sega Forever, a new collection of free classic Sega games on mobile devices.

Beginning on June 22, Sega Forever will offer iOS and Android users additional games every two weeks, with the first five being Genesis classics Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star II, Comix Zone, and Kid Chameleon. All five will also launch with custom iMessage sticker packs, so you can remind your friends that you’re playing Sega games at all hours of they day or night.

Each game will be available to play completely free, with advertisements supporting them. If players wish to purchase any of the individual games so they can play without any ads, they’ll be available for $2 each.

All games included in Sega Forever will be playable completely offline and will include support for cloud saves if you wish to play them across multiple devices. Leaderboards will also be supported, as will Bluetooth controllers so you can play the games as they were meant to be played.

“As the Sega Forever collection expands through months and years, it will include games that pan all Sega console eras, each adapted specifically for mobile devices while remaining faithful to the original games,” Sega said in the official announcement.

Most of the games shown in the official teaser trailer, which you can watch above, are from the Genesis library, but Dreamcast fans should get plenty of their favorites through the program as well. Games like Jet Grind Radio are still beautiful and exciting even more than a decade after their release. Others, like Crazy Taxi, are actually already available on the App Store for free with in-app purchases, but the ability to play the game without being asked to fork over real money could be a big selling (or non-selling) point.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best mobile games of 2022: 6 must-download titles from a shockingly great year
A character from Lucky Luna stands in front of text that says 2022 Best Mobile Games.

Mobile games have a bad reputation due to many games on the platform utilizing overwhelming microtransactions and other questionable features meant to squeeze the most play time and money out of players. Despite that, plenty of awesome games still emerge on mobile platforms -- ones that don't use those practices at all. In fact, 2022 was a fantastic year for gaming as companies like Netflix and Apple continued to invest heavily in the space with more traditional video games.

As such, those who write off mobile gaming might have missed some truly great games that came out this year. If you're looking for some new mobile games to play when you're bored or need to kill some time, we recommend giving the following six 2022 standouts a shot.
Marvel Snap (iOS, Android)

Read more
The Sega Genesis Mini 2 features an unreleased game by Sonic legend Takashi Iizuka
sega genesis mini 2 announced

Sega has revealed all 60 of the games that will be featured on the upcoming Sega Genesis Mini 2. Most notably, it announced that the new mini console will have two previously unreleased games: Devi & Pii and Star Mobile.

Devi & Pii was created by Takashi Iizuka in 1993 before he developed Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It's an adventure game where two characters, Taro and Hanako, have turned into paddles and are tasked with rescuing the titular angel Pii from the demon Devi while dodging the latter's attacks.

Read more
Discord is making its Android app more like iOS, and in a good way
Discord app icon on the screen smartphone

If you own an Android phone, you may have noticed that the iPhone gets new features from your favorite apps before Android devices do -- or, in some cases, not at all. Discord is changing that by switching to React Native for its Android app.

According to a blog post written by Discord's product team, React Native is an open-source UI software framework that will allow the company to release new features across all platforms simultaneously. In other words, Discord users who have Android will receive all the new features the company introduces at the same the iOS app does instead of waiting for them to come weeks or months after iOS.

Read more