Shuji Utsumi has been appointed President and COO at Sega, as well as Representative Director CEO of Sega of America, and CEO of Sega Europe.
The announcement was made on January 9 by Sega Sammy, Sega's parent company, in a new press release confirming Utsumi's new role. Over on his LinkedIn profile, Utsumi confirmed he will step into the role in April.
Utsumi will be transitioning from his current roles as Co-COO, President of Consumer Game and Transmedia, Representative Director CEO of Sega of America, and Chairman of Sega Europe.
The industry veteran worked at Sony Computer Entertainment America and helped launch PlayStation in North America, as well as the Sega Dreamcast in regions outside of Japan.
Sega has appointed Shuji Utsumi as President/COO and CEO of Sega America and Europe.Utsumi-san helped launched PlayStation in the United States at Sony, the Dreamcast at Sega, and was involved in the creation of Kingdom Hearts at Disney Interactive, as well as Q Entertainment. pic.twitter.com/XEtgq5sdXAJanuary 10, 2024
Utsumi left Sega in the early 2000s to work at Disney Interactive and was instrumental in establishing Kingdom Hearts. He then went on to establish Q Entertainment in 2004 - the studio best known for Lumines and Meteos - before rejoining Sega in 2020 as CSO of Sega of Japan and general manager of Sega’s Game Contents & Service Business HQ.
During The Game Awards 2023, it was announced that Sega would be rebooting five retro franchises including Shinobi, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, and Golden Axe.
Following the reveal, Utsumi said that the earliest reboot will arrive “in the range of two years” and that all games will feature new gameplay and appeal to old and new fans alike.
At the time, the now-president also provided some details on the Shinobi and Streets of Rage movie adaptations, saying that it's Sega's goal to expand its ambitions beyond the popular Sonic movies.
"Sonic is definitely a blueprint for us," Utsumi said. "First, we really want to create the games and appeal to the gamers. The game is first. However, if we are creating the world and the characters that gamers love, that means if filmmakers love that kind of direction, [that can inspire] the movies. So, why not?”
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