Yuji Naka Surprises Fans with Update to Eight-Year-Old Mobile Game
In an unexpected move, Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has released an update for his 2016 mobile game, Pirates of Coin. Announced on X (formerly Twitter), Naka detailed the technical challenges he faced in modernizing the game. Originally built using Unity 5, the update required significant revisions, including transitioning from JavaScript to C# and addressing numerous deprecated features to ensure compatibility with newer Unity versions.
After 8years,I have updated our PROPE application “Pirates of Coin”.It was built in Unity5 at the time, but I had to update a lot of things while there are a lot of Unitys between now and Unity6. I changed Javascript to C# and supported a lot of Obsoletes. https://t.co/UlRrWdQEUn pic.twitter.com/DGirsWWRY5
— Yuji Naka / 中 裕司 (@nakayuji) February 10, 2025
This update is particularly noteworthy given Naka’s current legal circumstances. In July 2023, he received a 30-month prison sentence, suspended for four years, and was fined ¥173 million (approximately $1.2 million) after pleading guilty to insider trading during his tenure at Square Enix. Despite these challenges, Naka’s commitment to his earlier projects remains evident.
Pirates of Coin was developed by Prope, the independent studio Naka founded after departing from Sega. The game offers players a coin-pusher experience set against a pirate-themed backdrop, combining elements of chance and strategy. While it didn’t make significant waves upon its initial release, this recent update may rekindle interest among mobile gaming enthusiasts.
As of now, Naka has not disclosed any future game development plans. However, this recent activity suggests that he remains engaged with the gaming community, even amidst personal challenges.
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