Video-game legend Yuji Naka, best known as the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has been arrested by Japanese authorities on charges of insider trading. On Friday, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office gave a statement alleging that Naka obtained sensitive information about a new Dragon Quest mobile game while employed at Square Enix in 2020. The statement claims that Naka purchased 10,000 shares of the game’s co-production company, Aiming, prior to news of the project going public. Naka and two other Square Enix employees have been arrested on insider trading charges.
Naka left Square Enix in 2021 after the critical commercial failure of his new original 3-D platformer, Balan Wonderworld. The game’s March 2021 release was a notorious misfire, with fewer than 2,100 copies sold during its first week. This poor performance caused Naka to tweet that he was considering retirement. You either retire a hero or work long enough to become the Doctor Eggman.