Sega Sammy CFO Koichi Fukuzawa noted that, despite getting a million sales early, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds missed internal projections.
Zooming in at sales figures for just December, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 took the crown, with Battlefield 6 instead being ranked at third.
Namco's iconic character joins the racing title this week alongside the Ghost Gang, a new vehicle, and a potential new stage.
Masaru Kobayakawa confirmed that the studio plans on continuing the kart racer's post-launch support throughout the new year.
Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka spoke about how Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was developed to improve Sonic's presence in the racing genre.
Less than a month after release, players of the kart racer have had over 74.5 million races and more than 13 million Ranked games.
The $4.99 DLC adds three Minecraft characters (and emotes) to Sonic Team's racer alongside a new course, machine, and music tracks.
Alongside Persona 5's Joker and Like a Dragon's Ichiban Kasuga, Sega will add nine more free characters to the kart racer.
Mega Man and Proto Man will be available as new characters alongside the Rush Roadstar and a new level, Dr Wily's Castle.
Deluxe Edition owners can experience the new kart racing title now on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms.
Mega Man will join SpongeBob SquarePants, Minecraft, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Pac-Man, among other franchises.
CrossWorlds is a thrilling, chaotic, and endlessly replayable racer that finally gives Sonic a karting identity of his own.
Watch out Mario, Sonic and friends are chasing down your karting crown.
Playable offline, the kart racer's demo will only be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch owners.
Other titles include Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage, Persona 3: Reload, and much more.
Participating in the Joker Festival will also unlock Persona 5's protagonist and vehicle for use in other modes throughout the playtest.
The trailer showcased the different game modes and the characters that will be available when the network test starts on August 28.
Grand Prix and Time Trial are available offline, and participants can play online in World Match and the mysterious Joker Festival.
Fans of the Sonic franchise haven't been pleased about this, with one saying on social media that this was unacceptable for a $70 game.
Tune specific stats for each vehicle and combine different gadgets into potent loadouts for the best chances of success.
