SEGA teases a connection between Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces

The following comes from Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka...

“Last month, in August, was released a game called Sonic Mania that got a really warm welcome from everyone in the community from all the fans, especially abroad, a lot of people enjoyed playing it. And I really hope that if you played Sonic Mania, you get to play Sonic Forces too because you may think those titles are unrelated, but actually they may not be… definitely I want you guys to check out both titles because there’s something going on between the two. And I’m going to keep it at this right now.

This isn't really a surprise, as many fans have already been pointing out connections between the two games, including the use of the same sound effect between the two games when it comes to Forces' Infinite.