Sega has put out new job listings indicating the company is working on the next Olympics game.

The company posted a job listing for a Client Programmer, with this description:

“You will be responsible for the programming work involved in the development of video game titles using in-house engines in addition to Unity and UnrealEngine,” the description translated from Japanese into English begins. “Depending on the specifications and given requirements for the project, you will be able to communicate and solve problems or issues regardless of your occupation. Those who have experience in leadership will initially start working as a higher level engineer and will be appointed as a leader after understanding the internal development flow.”

The job listing also provides links to the Sonic Channel, the official Sega website for Sonic the Hedgehog, and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game.

Notably, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game is the first Olympics based video game that didn’t have the Sonic or Mario licenses for some time. While Sega also produced this game, and it was published on the Nintendo Switch, it was also released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.

The Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series itself had been running as far back as 2007, with the original game released on the Wii. These games had proven a popular casual hit through the years, with players getting to play as Mario or Sonic characters competing in the Olympic events.

However, these games were exclusive to Nintendo platforms, and there was a pre Mario & Sonic appetite for Olympics video games with more realistic athletes. Games like Track & Field and Decathlete had catered to that appetite with arcade style gameplay, but the Olympics Committee itself hadn’t seen a need to cater to that audience for over a decade.

Since the listing mentions Unreal and Unity engines, Sega may be open to making another non-Mario and Sonic themed Olympics video game. While the last game wasn’t particularly well reviewed or popular, the Olympics Committee themselves may have had renewed interest in making such games. Either that or Sega may be hoping to get more use out of the Olympics video game license.

Of course, Sega may have been using those tools to make the Mario & Sonic Olympics games anyway, and this is just screening to make it easier to find people who can immediately work on these games.

The last Mario & Sonic Olympics game released in 2019. We had covered how the reviews were mostly positive on the game design but criticized the story mode. The next Olympics are coming up in 2024 in France, so Sega may be ramping up immediately to get their next Olympics games in short order.

Source: The Gamer