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Yuji Naka indicted over insider trading case at Square Enix

The Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator and another former Square Enix employee have been formally indicted following their arrests for alleged insider trading earlier in the year.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

December 27, 2022

1 Min Read
Photo of game developer Yuji Naka.

Weeks after his second arrest, and over a month after his first, game developer Yuji Naka has been indicted over alleged insider trading during his time at Square Enix. 

Per the NHK (and translated via Google), Tokyo's Public Prosecutor's Office determined that Naka invested over 144.7 million yen (or $834,000) into the developer. It's alleged that he was aware that Square Enix was planning to announce Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier for mobile devices, and purchased company stock ahead of its reveal, when stock sales were expected to rise.

Also indicted is ex-Square Enix employee Taisuke Sasaki. Sasaki was previously arrested in mid-November with fellow employee Fumiaki Suzuki over similar allegations of insider trading, but for the mobile title Dragon Quest Tact

Sasaki was claimed to have purchased 105 million yen ($787,318) in stock, according to the NHK. 

During Naka's first arrest, it was alleged that he purchased stock ahead of Dragon Quest Tact's official reveal. He reportedly purchased stock in its developer Aiming Inc, which was said to be worth 2.8 million ($20,000).

At time of writing, it's unknown if Naka or Sasaki will stand trial. 

About the Author

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

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