Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka among former Square Enix employees arrested over Dragon Quest-related insider trading

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They are alleged to have bought stock in a developer right before the public announcement it would make a Dragon Quest spinoff.

Sylvando winks
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Update: Fuji News Network is now reporting that Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and director of Balan Wonderworld, has been arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in connection with the insider trading case. Like the two previously arrested suspects, Naka is accused of buying shares in Aiming Co before it was revealed that the developer was taking on a lucrative contract to make a Dragon Quest mobile game. In Naka's case, he allegedly bought around 10,000 shares, roughly worth 2.8 million yen. It has not been disclosed whether Naka or the other suspects sold their shares.

Original story: On November 17, Japanese outlet Automaton reported that two Square Enix employees had been arrested by Tokyo Police on suspicion of insider trading. The arrest is in relation to money they invested in a third-party developer, Aiming Co, ahead of the public reveal that it would work on the mobile Dragon Quest spinoff, Dragon Quest Tact, which released in 2020.

Sasaki and Suzuki were allegedly aware of Aming Co's unannounced collaboration with Square Enix through internal sources when they purchased 47 million yen (around $335,000) worth of Aming Co stock. Given the Dragon Quest series' massive popularity, especially in Japan, that investment would presumably have a lucrative payoff, with Aiming Co's value increasing as soon as the high profile project was announced.

On November 17, Square Enix released a public statement on the matter. The company said it will "fully cooperate with the investigation to clarify the facts." Square Enix also stated that it is "taking disciplinary action against the former employees," and went on to assert that it will strengthen its internal measures to detect and prevent insider trading by employees.

Ted Litchfield
Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.

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