Fresh on the heels of the success of Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania, Sega's confirmed it will be lifting the lid on its upcoming plans for the Blue Blur at SXSW next month.

The software behemoth teased that it will be offering a 'world-exclusive first look at what comes next' for Sonic and chums at the Gotta Go Fast: The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Panel at 3.30pm CST on March 16.

We're promised an update on how well the previous two Sonic titles have done as well as a glimpse at what is presumably the next game in the venerable platforming franchise, although that's about all we know at present.

'Sonic is back, and ready to take 2018 by storm,' the teaser reads. The panel will feature a number of major players at Sega, including Aaron Webber, Austin Keys, Jason Hernandez, and Takashi Iizuka, so expect something pretty substantial.

Frankly, Sega would have to be barking mad not to do a direct follow-up to the brilliant Sonic Mania (which I admit to loving even more than Colm), which saw the spiky speedster return to his retro roots after years of medicore 3D outings. Or they could be total gits and give us Sonic and the Black Knight 2.