The last Sega-manufactured Mega Drive console rolled off the production line in 1997, with a total of 31 million consoles sold (comparable to the Atari 2600 and Nintendo 64). This was followed by the failure of the Saturn, and subsequently the Dreamcast, which meant that Sega ultimately exited the hardware industry.
But fans have not forgotten the Mega Drive, or Genesis as it was called in the US. On the contrary, the console continues to be loved and, thanks to excellent development tools, has long been a favorite among homebrewers. Lots of interesting and surprisingly lavish games are released regularly, and they can often be purchased on a fully functional cartridge complete with instruction manual and case.
2026 does not look like it will be any exception, quite the opposite. In fact, there are tons of great games in the pipeline, and the YouTube retro channel Just Jamie Retro Realm has now listed over 20 Mega Drive games that are coming out next year. Check out the video below. Some are Mega Drive versions of titles that already exist on other formats, others are fan creations based on well-known brands, while others are really cool and completely new games. Be sure to check out Earthion MD (skip to 21:04), Phantom Gear (24:10), and Shadow Gangs Zero (29:29), among others.
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