Sega opens a new studio led by former producer Phantasy Star Online 2
Sega has announced that they have established a new studio called Sega Sapporo Studio.
This studio was officially established on December 1, 2021, as a “second development base in Japan”, as first reported by Gematsu. Sapporo was founded to focus on new software development and debugging. It will be led by former Phantasy Star Online 2 producer Takaya Segawa, who was promoted to a senior company position for Sega last April.
“In line with our policy of continuing to accept the challenge of creating even more innovative content and providing the world with new and exciting experiences, we will use the know-how that Sega has accumulated over its long history. to participate in the development of the entertainment industry. we will introduce to the world from the fascinating city of Sapporo,” said Segawa, translated by Chronicles of video games. “Sega Sapporo Studio will strive to provide a touching experience for customers and create a studio that values its staff.”
As the name suggests, Sapporo is located in the city of Sapporo and the studio will hire locally to build a team of staff dedicated to designing, programming, and debugging game software. Sapporo does not require all of its workers to move to its Sapporo-based office like Gematsu reports that “Sega hopes to expand employment opportunities for people who want to work in their province.”
As expected with the establishment of a new studio, Sapporo has a website, viewable here. VGC note that Sega has several in-house development studios such as Sonic Team and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Yakuza, Judgment), but all operate off Sega’s main development facility in Tokyo. Sapporo will serve as another development facility that resembles the original.
To know more about Sega, read about how it and Microsoft created a “strategic alliance” to create “large-scale global games” in November of last year, and then check out the latest trailer for Sonic Frontiers. Read about how Sonic Frontiers was originally slated to launch in 2021 on the series’ 30th anniversary afterward.
[Source: Gematsu]
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