Father of Sonic the Hedgehog Yuji Naka Joins Square Enix

Yuji Naka is known for his work on a classic video game series and mascot: Sonic the Hedgehog. He was the former head of the Sonic Team and the lead programmer for the original Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Genesis. In a surprising announcement, we learn that he has joined the team at Square Enix.

The announcement was made on Twitter.

As surprising as it may seem, Naka had actually left the Sonic Team in 2006 to found a company named Prope. At Prope, he helped develop titles such as Ivy the Kiwi?, Fishing Resort, Digimon Adventure, and Rodea the Sky Soldier. 

It’s still unclear whether or not his joining Square Enix will affect his connecting to Prope or what he’s working on at Square Enix. While there are very mixed feelings about the Sonic franchise, Yuji Naka actually left the Sonic Team when the record lows of the company had started. The notorious reimagined Sonic the Hedgehog, better known as Sonic 06, was the last title he worked on with the team, meaning his departure marked the bumpy road the series would go down.

What is Yuji Naka working on at Square Enix? It has yet to be announced, but be sure to keep it tuned to GameZone for the inevitable announcement. In other Sonic news, Sonic Adventure 2 was added to Xbox One’s backward compatibility.