Update Fuji News Network (opens in new tab) reports 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 an insider trading case. Like the two suspects arrested earlier, suspect Naka is accused of purchasing shares of Aiming Inc. before it became known that the company was contracted to produce a Dragon Quest mobile game. In Naka's case, he is alleged to have purchased approximately 10,000 shares, worth approximately 2.8 million yen. It is not clear whether Naka or the other suspects sold the shares.

Original On November 17, Japanese outlet Automaton (opens in new tab) reported that two Square Enix employees were arrested by Tokyo police on suspicion of insider trading. The arrests relate to money they invested in a third-party development company, Aiming Inc. before it was announced that they would be involved in the development of a mobile Dragon Quest spin-off, Dragon Quest Tact (opens in new tab), which will be released in 2020.

Automaton identifies these employees as Fumiaki Suzuki (open in new tab) and Taisuke Sasaki (open in new tab) (alternately Sasaki), both of whom have worked on well-known Square Enix games, including Dragon Quest 11, Final Fantasy 14, and NieR Automata, with technical They have production credits and special thanks.

Sasaki and Suzuki were reportedly aware of the unannounced collaboration between Aiming Inc. and Square Enix through inside sources when they purchased 47 million yen (about $335,000) worth of stock in Aiming Inc. Given the immense popularity of the Dragon Quest series, especially in Japan, the investment would probably yield a lucrative return, and as soon as the high-profile project was announced, Aiming Co's value rose.

On November 17, Square Enix issued an official statement (open in new tab) on the matter. The company said it would "cooperate fully with the investigation to clarify the facts." Square Enix also claimed that it would "take disciplinary action against the former employee" and that it would further "strengthen its internal measures to detect and prevent insider trading by its employees."

While $335,000 is undoubtedly a life-changing sum for an individual, it seems to me that in the world of high finance and billion-dollar video game studio acquisitions, it is a pittance. I can imagine an Office Space-like situation where two mid-level Square Enix employees plot to make a small fortune in the shadow of the company's profits. In any case, this is a developing story and the first instance of Dragon Quest's alleged involvement in financial crime.