In his statement he promised to do his "best to make a game that many people can enjoy".
Visions of Mana's Ryosuke Yoshida is leaving Ouka Studios to join Square Enix.
As announced by Ryosuke Yoshida himself, the director of Visions of Mana, a RPG game released in August of this year, is leaving Ouka Studios, a developer owned by NetEease Games to join Square Enix.
Yoshida might be best known for his involvement as an assistant planner for Capcom’s Lost Planet 2 and in the game design of Monster Hunter: Generations and Devil May Cry 5, the latest installment in the action game series.
When NetEase established its own console-focused teams with the Shibuya-based Ouka back in 2020, it hired former staff from other companies like Square Enix, Bandai Namco or Capcom. After leaving his job of 20 years at Capcom, Yoshida was working at Ouka as the director for Visions of Mana, the fifth installment of the groundbreaking Mana series.
Visions of Mana
The Mana series is best known for its second title, and top-selling Secret of Mana is one of the most-known franchises owned by Square Enix. Visions of Mana is the fifth main title and was released in August of 2024 for PlayStation 4, 5, PC and the Xbox series.
Visions was the first mainline game since 2006’s Dawn of Mana and told the story of Hinna and Val fighting eight elemental monsters from the distant past.
Yoshida joins Square Enix
There have already been reports since August that NetEase laid off the staff of Ouka with the intent to shut down the studio’s offices. Even though NetEase just called this “necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions” it is more than likely that Yoshidas decision was influenced by this.
In his statement on X (formerly Twitter) Yoshida says:
On a personal note, I quit NetEase Ouka Studios on October 31st. We were a new studio, but we were able to release Visions of Mana. I am grateful to the development team and NetEase for their support.It was a very good experience. Thank you all.I am happy to announce that I...
— Ryosuke Yoshida (@YoshidaBeer) December 2, 2024
I am happy to announce that I joined Square Enix in December. I will do my best to make a game that many people can enjoy!
Have you played Visions of Mana? What kind of game would you like Yoshida to work on at Suqare Enix?
