SEGA’s Takedown of Sonic.exe: The Disaster Just Seems Petty
Welp. SEGA might have just swung the banhammer on one of Roblox’s most iconic and beloved horror-fangames, Sonic.EXE: The Disaster—and fans are fuming mad.
In what feels like a cheap shot disguised as “IP protection,” the company allegedly sent a takedown notice that wiped the game clean off the platform like it was some kind of threat.
Spoiler alert: it kinda was. But not for the reasons you think.
A Roblox Horror Hit That Deserved Better
Let’s get one thing straight: Sonic.EXE: The Disaster wasn’t some half-baked copy-paste Sonic reskin thrown together in a weekend.
This thing was a full-blown passion project—built and maintained by solo dev OutLaik, who, by all accounts, did everything by the book.
No monetization. No shady asset grabs. Just a pure love letter to SEGA’s blue blur with a creepypasta twist.
And it worked. Really well.
We’re talking 344 million+ visits. Kids, teens, streamers, and weirdly enthusiastic adults—everyone was playing it. The vibe? Sonic meets horror movie chaos.
Amazing gameplay, fun roster of characters, a friggin’ animated crash with the Tornado, ok.
It wasn’t just a game—it was an experience. It sparked spin-offs, a next-level 2D game, Sonic.EXE: The Disaster 2D Remake, and inspired dozens of creators to get weird in the best way.
Everyone was waiting on the 1.4 update that was scheduled to be released soon – so why the hell did SEGA drop the hammer?
The Irony of Success
Here’s the real tea: the game didn’t die because it was bad. In my opinion, it died because it was too damn good.
Like, “oops we’re accidentally better than your official Sonic cash grab game” good.
The Roblox platform is no stranger to Sonic titles—Sonic Speed Simulator, anyone?—but let’s be real: most of those games are dripping in microtransactions, dull as hell after 20 minutes, and clearly just brand IP farms to rake in Robux.
Meanwhile, OutLaik’s game?
Free. No monetization. No pay-to-win. Just pure fangame fire, created with love and a lot of chaotic energy.
That’s gotta sting for SEGA. Nothing hurts a big brand’s ego quite like a 22-year-old indie dev on Roblox pulling bigger numbers than their “official” licensed game.
Suddenly, “respecting the IP” becomes code for “we’re jealous and don’t like being shown up.”
OutLaik may request that we put on our big boy pants and take it like a man, but that’s not going to stop me from downvoting Sonic Speed Simulator and vowing to never play that game again.
They deserve worse imho, but they’ve definitely at least lost my business until the end of eternity.
The Petty Police Strike Again
What makes this takedown even grosser, if true, is how clearly it sends the wrong message to the fan community.
Let’s not pretend the Sonic fandom is easy to please—it’s full of creatives who are constantly remixing, reinventing, and memeing the franchise into something that still feels alive.
Video Source: Sonic.EXE: The Disaster Official Discord | Posted by Rego
Instead of embracing that energy, SEGA decided to take the corporate route: kill what they can’t control.
And what does that do, really? It punishes creativity.
It kneecaps a community that’s kept Sonic relevant during the less-than-stellar years. And it tells young devs to stop bothering—unless you’re ready to cough up licensing fees or get slapped with a cease-and-desist, don’t even try.
It’s not about “protecting the brand.” It’s about power-tripping.
And it’s lame as hell.
Killing Sonic Hype, One Bad Move at a Time
Let’s zoom out for a sec.
The Sonic franchise is still riding the high from the movies and a handful of solid titles, but the momentum only lasts so long. Gen Z and Alpha kids aren’t buying Sega Saturns—they’re on Roblox, YouTube, and TikTok.
And Sonic.EXE: The Disaster was their gateway drug into the fandom.
Image Source: Sonic.EXE: The Disaster Official Discord | Posted by Valerie
So by nuking the game from orbit, SEGA just slammed the door in the face of a huge chunk of their future audience.
And for what?
Pride? A fragile brand? Some PR intern’s bad legal advice?
Instead of meeting the fans where they are, SEGA chose violence. And all they’ve done is make the brand look like a dinosaur—clunky, bitter, and totally disconnected from what actually keeps it alive.
The Aftermath: What’s Left Standing?
Don’t get it twisted—OutLaik isn’t done. Although he might just be when it comes to licensed fangames. He did say that he’s going to continue to create Roblox games, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be fighting this (unfortunately for us all).
Image Source: Sonic.EXE: The Disaster Official Discord
And fans? They’re not letting this go quietly.
Social media’s lighting up with people calling out the hypocrisy, comparing SEGA’s reaction to companies like Nintendo who—while still overly litigious—have at least acknowledged and celebrated fan creations when convenient.
I’ve never personally heard of this YouTube creator before, Yacine, but you can hear the absolute passion and devastation in his voice over the news in the video below:
SEGA Fumbled Hard
At the end of the day, Sonic.EXE: The Disaster didn’t hurt the Sonic brand. SEGA did.
If this does turn out to be SEGA and not some petty 3rd party, they could have killed off one of the most iconic Roblox fangames—not because it broke rules, but because it broke their illusion of control.
This wasn’t just a takedown. It was a message. And unfortunately, that message is loud, clear, and stupid: “Don’t love our stuff too much, or we’ll destroy you for it.”
Coming immediately after another delay of Sonic Rumble from SEGA – this is not exactly the vibe you want if you’re trying to stay relevant in 2025.
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Vicky
May 6, 2025
I really hope TD comes back <3
Ayefkay
May 6, 2025
Hey Vicky, thanks for stopping by. I hope it does too, but it’s hard to tell if OutLaik even wants to continue working on it after this. Fingers crossed!
SONICFAN1
May 6, 2025
I heard this was just some rtard who pretended to be SEGA and it’s coming back
Ayefkay
May 6, 2025
Hey SonicFan, I HOPE that’s the case, but I saw that message on the Dimensional Coalescence Discord and it’s just someone who randomly said that someone’s going around striking games with SEGA’s name. No proof that it’s true one way or another so I’m not going to get my hopes up.