The Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka as part of an insider trading scandal involving his former employer, Square Enix. Naka is one of three individuals that have been arrested as part of the scandal, which involved purchasing shares in Developer Aiming leading up to its release of Dragon Quest Tact. [Thanks, FNN Prime Online!]
Yuji Naka, alongside Taisuke Sasaki, a former Square Enix employee, and Fumiaki Suzuki were arrested as part of an investigation that opened in late January 2020. All three individuals purchased shares in Aiming before the release of Dragon Quest Tact, under the impression that value of its stock would rise. Naka purchased roughly 10,000 shares for approximately 2.8 million yen before the release of Dragon Quest Tact.
Yuji Naka recently worked alongside Square Enix for the release of Balan Wonderworld. In April 2022, he attempted to sue Square Enix over his removal from the game’s development roughly six months before it released. This information was revealed in a Twitter thread, where Naka disclosed issue during the development cycle and certain discissions he did not agree with. This included promotion for the game.
Balan Wonderworld is available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
