Yuji Naka, director of Balan Wonderworld and creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, no longer works with Square Enix.
Naka announced on Twitter today that he is no longer working with Square Enix and left the company at the end of April.
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“I resigned from Square Enix at the end of April,” Naka said in a tweet (thanks to Gematsu).
“Although I can’t share the reason now, I hope to discuss it in due course. As for what I will do in the future, I am 55 years old, so let’s retire.”
As a programmer, designer, and producer, Naka is the former head of Sonic Team. He is the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog series on Sega Mega Drive.
In Sonic Team, he also led the development of Nights into Dreams, Phantasy Star Online, etc.
In 2006, he left Sega and founded the independent game company Prope. The team created Digimon games for PSP and PS3, but the most famous is the Wii and Wii U Sky Warrior Rodea. The company also develops mobile games.
He joined Square Enix in January 2018 to direct Baran’s Fantasy World.
Balan Wonderworld was released on consoles and PCs on March 26, and critics didn’t like the title too much.
I retired from SQUARE ENIX in late April 2021 because I want to contact the media and users. I can’t say the reason now, but I hope I can say it when the time comes. As for future activities, I am 55 years old and may retire. The photo was taken by Sega Hard Historia. pic.twitter.com/YgFT0eq2Jk
— Yuji Naka / Yuji Naka (@nakayuji) June 5, 2021
