The creator of Ecco the Dolphin has announced an upcoming collection containing classic games and an all-new adventure.
Ecco the Dolphin: Complete will contain “all versions of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time”, as well as a “brand new contemporary Ecco game”.
The original Ecco the Dolphin was released on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis in 1992, before being ported to the Master System, Game Gear and Mega CD.
The sequel, Ecco: The Tides of Time, came to the Mega Drive / Genesis in 1994 followed by the Game Gear and Mega CD. A Master System port was released exclusively in Brazil.
Although the new announcement says it will contain “all versions” of each game, it does also say it goes “from the 8-bit Master System era through the 16-bit Genesis / Mega Drive generation”, implying the Mega CD versions may not be included.
The collection is being developed by A&R Atelier, a California-based studio led by Ecco the Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata. The studio includes original members of the original Ecco the Dolphin development team, and is also “currently developing Ecco the Dolphin titles in partnership with Sega”, according to the statement.
Ecco the Dolphin: Complete will include new features including speedrunning support, achievements and leaderboards. It will also contain “meta quests” which span across the original games and the new game, offering “challenges that thread through the entire Ecco universe”.
“Ecco the Dolphin: Complete is built by original members of the Ecco development team, reunited after more than 30 years, and includes original creator Ed Annunziata along with members of the original composition, art, and programming teams,” an official statement says.
“No one else can make this game. The people who created Ecco’s world, its music, its atmosphere, and its mysteries are the ones bringing it forward. This is not an outside studio’s interpretation. This is Ecco as it was always meant to be – realized by the minds that dreamed it into existence.”
Annunziata announced in May 2025 that a new Ecco the Dolphin game and two remasters were in development. He also directed players to “stay tuned” to an Ecco the Dolphin website, which showed a clock counting down to April 2026. The clock is currently set to end at 1am PT / 4am ET / 9am BST on Thursday, April 23.
Following the release of Ecco the Dolphin and Tides of Time, an easier spin-off called Ecco Jr was released on Mega Drive / Genesis. After this the series remained dormant for a while, until Sega and developer Appaloosa Interactive released Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future on Dreamcast (and later PS2). Annunziata had no involvement in this new game, which was a 3D adventure rather than his 2D side-scrolling games.
Back in 2013, Annunziata – who didn’t have the rights to the Ecco the Dolphin IP at the time – attempted to crowdfund a spiritual successor called The Big Blue, but this was ultimately unsuccessful.
Undeterred, he settled a lawsuit with Sega in 2016 which appeared to potentially open the door again for a new Ecco title.
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