Good morning, afternoon, and evening everyone.

It’s been a hot minute since our previous news post, so the team and I thought it would be wise to give you all an update on how things are going.

I would like to start by confirming that there will indeed be a Sonic Hacking Contest this year! This probably doesn’t come as much of a shock, but I recognize that going this long without much communication on when the contest is taking place may have been cause for concern. At this time, I cannot confirm the exact dates of the contest, but I will state for the record that scheduling is expected to be very similar to last year’s contest.

Next, I would like to elaborate as much as I can on where we’re at in the planning process. Since the conclusion of the previous contest, head leadership has been hard at work sifting through feedback, identifying issues with the contest and aspects of its format, structure, and supporting systems, and discussing changes to resolve them. Some of these are issues that emerged during last year’s contest specifically, whilst others have been accumulating over the course of many, many years.

It has become increasingly clear that for this event to survive and thrive for decades to come, we must change. We have been having very promising, productive conversations behind the scenes to facilitate that change, and I firmly believe that the proposals we are looking at implementing for this year's contest will be pivotal in laying the foundation for the contest going forward. However, the scope of these changes means that the conversations about them have required time and patience to discuss thoroughly. We greatly appreciate the feedback left to us on the feedback form for last year’s contest, and the patience all of you have had with us as we work to ensure the 2026 contest is the very best it can be.

If all goes well, we are hoping to have all the details finalized by the end of May so that we can make an official announcement with the updated information ready to go by mid-to-late June, so hang tight!

Before we go, there is one more thing I would like to make mention of. In a previous announcement, we made mention that we are in urgent need of additional Judges for the 3D category. Unfortunately, in the months since, the situation has not improved very much. As such, I would like to reiterate that if you have any relevant expertise/experience and would be interested in judging and evaluating mods for any of the games in the 3D category, please feel free to apply using the link below:

Apply to become a 3D Judge!

I think that about covers it. Until next time!