Balan Wonderworld Creator Confirms He’s Left Square Enix

When Sonic co-creator Yuji Naja’s Balan Wonderworld was first unveiled, it turned quite a few heads. A new platforming IP with what looked like an interesting concpt, backed by Square Enix, and created by the person partly responsible for creating Sonic the Hedgehog? Of course it did. But it’s fair to say that the game fell way short of expectations.

Balan Wonderworld was widely criticized upon launch, and recent updates to Yuji Naka’s Facebook and Twitter pages suggested that he’d left Square Enix in the aftermath. Now, Naka has officially confirmed the same, saying in a tweet that he left the Japanese company at the end of April. Though he cannot go into the reasons why, he hopes to “be able to tell you when the time comes.” Naka also states that since he’s 55 years old, he’s considering retirement.

Balan Wonderworld is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. In our review of the game, we gave it a score of 4/10, criticizing it for its “shallow gameplay and questionable design choices.” You can read our full review through here.

メディアの方やユーザーさんにお問い合わせ頂くので、2021年4月末でスクエニを退職いたしました。理由は今はお話出来ませんが、時が来ればお話出来ればと思います。今後の活動については、もう55歳なので引退もありかも知れませんね。写真はセガハードヒストリアの取材で撮って頂いた写真になります。 pic.twitter.com/YgFT0eq2Jk

— Yuji Naka / 中　裕司 (@nakayuji) June 5, 2021