Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka has joined Square Enix

Legendary game designer Yuji Naka, whose credits include serving as lead programmer for the original Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Sega Genesis and producer for Phantasy Star Online, took to Twitter the other day to announce he had been hired on by Square Enix as of January.

Here is his full Twitter message in full:

“Just a quick note to let you know, I joined Square Enix in January,” Naka said. “I’m joining game development as before, and strive to develop games at Square Enix. I aim to develop an enjoyable game, please look forward to it.”

Naka left Sonic Team back in 2006 shortly after the release of Sonic 06 and founded his own company, Prope. From there, he went on to develop a variety of titles including Digimon Adventure, Rodea the Sky Soldier, Ivy the Kiwi?, and more. 

While the news may come as a surprise, Yuji Naka did not confirm what projects he is working on or what will happen with Prope. One can only hope for an original property for the Sonic Team mastermind. We will be sure to let you know of any announcements, so stay tuned.