After ‘Visions Of Mana’ Devs Shut Down By NetEase Games Immediately After Launch, Co-Director Kenji Ozawa Founds New Studio Based On His Belief That “Management Needs To Protect Creators”
Seeking to turn his own negative experiences into a net positive for the industry, former Visions of Mana co-director Kenji Ozawa has struck out on his own and founded Studio Sasanqua, a new development studio focused on offering creators a significant level of job security and protection in the face of an ever-collapsing industry.
Having helmed the latest Mana series entry for Ouka Studios alongside Devil May Cry V staff designer Ryosukle Yoshida, Ozawa, like the rest of his team, lost his job in August 2024 as a result of parent company NetEase Games’ abrupt decision to shut them down just days after the release of their first and only game.
“In supporting studios outside China, we craft our strategy based on our goal of providing better gaming experiences to local and global players,” a NetEase spokesperson told Bloomberg‘s Takashi Mochizuki when pressed for comment. “[We are] thus always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions.”
Though Ozawa’s position was not immediately eliminated, ostensibly due to his seniority making him invaluable in the ‘sunsetting’ of Ouka Studios, he ultimately departed on December 1st, announcing his resignation via his personal Twitter account.
“It has been an incredibly meaningful experience, from working on Visions of Mana, which I hope you enjoyed, to helping establish the Shibuya branch,” he said, as machine translated by ChatGPT. “It will be a little while before I can share what I’ll be doing next, but I will definitely continue to be a part of the gaming industry! I plan to keep living life to the fullest…! Thank you, Guangzhou!”
Of course, as the old adage goes, you can’t keep a good man down, and in the aftermath of his firing, Ozawa has not only finally returned to the industry, but also done so as the head of his own endeavor rather than as a general employee.
Formally founded in January, Ozawa’s own Studio Sasanqua was publicly unveiled on March 2nd courtesy of both a short video teaser and the launch of its official website.
Providing more insight into Studio Sansanqua’s creation in a subsequent interview with Automaton, Ozawa told the outlet that its foundation was strongly motivated by his dissatisfaction with the industry, in particular the recent trend of actual devs being left to suffer the consequences of executives’ poor decisions, rather than they themselves being held accountable in anyway.
“Based on both his personal experiences and what he’s observed in the industry in recent years, Ozawa emphasizes that “management needs to protect creators,” which includes motivating development and providing a psychological sense of security,” detailed Automaton Editor-in-Chief Amber V of her discussion with the Vision of Mana co-director. “As such, he decided to establish his own company in a way that integrates management and development, which usually tend to be separated. Ozawa says that he is fully prepared to assume responsibility if a project fails due to poor management decisions, and he is making sure that he is able to do so financially too. Studio Sasanqua appears to be funded by Ozawa himself.”
At current, Studio Sansanqua has yet to announce their first project.
However, according to Ozawa, their efforts will kick off with a variety of “small-scale projects developed in Unreal Engine” before ultimately making the jump to full-blown PC/console releases.
More About:Video Game News