The video game series' website now includes an official timeline documenting Sonic's adventures from the "prehistory" of the series to "200 years later". It kicks off with Sonic World Adventure (aka Sonic Unleashed) and ends with the 2006 release Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic fans have already noticed multiple details including the fact the Dreamcast party title Sonic Shuffle is "canon". It takes place in the "modern Sonic era" right after Sonic Adventure and before Sonic Adventure 2. Even games like Sonic 4 and Mania have also been acknowledged.
This timeline doesn't feature every Sonic game, but it seems to highlight a lot of notable points in Sonic history and lore. It even features some other spin-off games like Sonic's racing entries including Free Riders. Once again, you can check out the whole thing on Sonic's Japanese website.
Even if this timeline can be used as a guideline going forward, as already noted, there are still a lot of gaps along the way, and many games (as well as new titles) obviously haven't been included - so there are still plenty of things for fans to work out and other aspects that are still open to interpretation.


Images: SEGA

This same website has also apparently been updated with much more including a "finalised" canon list of officially recognised Sonic characters from the modern and classic eras, and how the characters are connected to Sonic and his main crew.
What do you think about this official Sonic history? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments.