Talk:Archie Comics' Sonic The Hedgehog "Endangered Species" (2013 original storyline)/@comment-75.141.108.46-20140625055319/@comment-286597-20150107205427

The situation is far more complicated than just "paying him". Ken Penders demanded his approval for storylines involving some of the characters and also that his "Mobius: 25 Years Later" would be considered cannon. Since this is storyline set in the future, this would effectively put him in control of the continuity.

Also it seems that Archie lost the rights for any content that wasn't created by SEGA, by the 90's Sonic cartoons or by the current writer. Since the selling point still are the SEGA characters, rebooting was the most viable option (or the only option...).