With rapid changes to the industry and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many major video game publishers and developers have been seeing significant shifts and decisions being made for the companies. Some have been for good reasons, such as Square Enix allowing their employees to work remotely even beyond the pandemic for their safety, and others for less desirable situations, such as the Ubisoft executives that retired due to harassment allegations. Now, a new shift at Sega has occurred that reflects the trains they have already had in motion, as the Yakuza creator has now been named the new Sega creative director.

As reported by GameInformer, Sega has announced that they have made Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi the new Sega creative director. Sega disclosed the new lineup in their board of directors and executives, with a note confirming that Nagoshi will begin his time as creative director beginning officially on April 1st later this year. Nagoshi has worked on the Yakuza series since the first game released in 2005. While it is not yet known to what extent this new position will impact how much Nagoshi will be involved with the series in the future, his position as creative director likely means he still will have some say over the direction of the series, as he will for the rest of Sega’s franchises.

This shake-up in the Sega creative director position comes at a hectic time for Sega. While last year saw an improvement for Sega video game sales, the company sadly decided to sell their arcade game business. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing many arcades to remain closed, Sega has had to find ways to restructure past this blow to their arcade business. The company even had to resort to asking veteran employees to help keep the company afloat. Hopefully these changes pay out in the long run for Sega and that they rise again Like A Dragon.

What do you guys think about Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi being named the new Sega creative director? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Sega news, such as the Yakuza producer expressing interest in working on a Sonic the Hedgehog game, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!