{"id":71487,"date":"2026-08-26T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=71487"},"modified":"2026-08-26T14:51:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T05:51:24","slug":"visions-of-mana-co-director-kenji-ozawa-is-recruiting-for-an-unannounced-console-game-by-his-new-independent-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/visions-of-mana-co-director-kenji-ozawa-is-recruiting-for-an-unannounced-console-game-by-his-new-independent-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Visions of Mana co-director Kenji Ozawa is recruiting for an &#8220;unannounced console game&#8221; by his new independent studio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visions of Mana co-director Kenji Ozawa announced on August 24 that his company, <strong>Studio Sasanqua<\/strong>, is recruiting experienced development staff for an unannounced console game. The studio is currently looking to fill seven positions, including those for a UI designer, environment artist, art director, lead engineer, lead planner, game producer, and game director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ozawa <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/former-dev-from-netease-games-ouka-studio-establishes-his-own-company-that-wont-push-the-responsibility-of-management-onto-developers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">established Studio Sasanqua in 2025<\/a>, after the untimely closure of the NetEase-owned Ouka Studios the previous year. The new studio was founded under the policy of \u201cnot holding staff responsible for decisions made by management,&#8221; based on Ozawa\u2019s misgivings with the state of the game industry in recent years. His company aims to integrate management and development while ensuring creators can work with a sense of security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"STUDIO SASANQUA: new game development studio announcement\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-bepiAuDR-g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, Studio Sasanqua and CGI production company Glitz Visuals (the studio responsible for the lighting in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Ninja Gaiden 4) <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-cgi-studio-forms-alliance-with-visions-of-mana-co-directors-new-company-studio-sasanqua\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced the formation of a business partnership<\/a> dedicated to combining their respective strengths and exchanging employees. Though Studio Sansanqua has yet to formally announce any projects, there is a possibility that Glitz Visuals has a hand in the game(s) currently in the works at the studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ozawa understands that sending an application to a studio with no titles under its belt can be nerve-wracking, as he experienced the same emotions when he started Studio Sasansqua. Despite this, he urges applicants who are having second thoughts about their current jobs to give the studio a shot, as they could end up finding joy in \u201ccreating their own space through their work.\u201d According to Ozawa, while the studio hasn&#8217;t yet made any announcements, it&#8217;s preparing &#8220;a lot&#8221; behind the scenes, so fans have what to look forward to. Those interested can check out the company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/studiosasanqua.com\/recruit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recruitment page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related:<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/visions-of-mana-director-talks-about-premature-closure-of-netease-games-ouka-studios-and-his-experience-working-there\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Visions of Mana director Kenji Ozawa talks about premature closure of NetEase Games\u2019 Ouka Studios and his experience working there<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/exclusive-visions-of-mana-directors-talk-high-speed-hands-on-game-development-hybrid-studio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Visions of Mana\u2019s directors talk about the high-speed, hands-on game development process that\u2019s only possible at a hybrid studio<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Studio Sasanqua was founded last year, following the closure of Ouka Studios.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":71489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-08-26T14:00:08+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mtyilkpgn52s","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mtyilkpgn52s\",\"cid\":\"bafyreibi66wzz3oqjojuuv4pyli7gztvsy54iyarhl3fm5i2w7iek2mfsi\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreidviqmfvyhafppnabyu7p3qdtj7kjhy6i53edbmxt5cdbe66vq2kq\",\"rev\":\"3mtyilkpmin2s\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-71487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Visions of Mana co-director Kenji Ozawa is recruiting for an &quot;unannounced console game&quot; by his new independent studio - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/visions-of-mana-co-director-kenji-ozawa-is-recruiting-for-an-unannounced-console-game-by-his-new-independent-studio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visions of Mana co-director Kenji Ozawa is recruiting for an &quot;unannounced console game&quot; by his new independent studio - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Studio Sasanqua was founded last year, following the closure of Ouka Studios.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/visions-of-mana-co-director-kenji-ozawa-is-recruiting-for-an-unannounced-console-game-by-his-new-independent-studio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-26T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260826-71487-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; 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