Nagoshi Studio has officially shut down and its first game called Gang of Dragon is seemingly no more, months after publisher NetEase pulled funding from the Yakuza-like project.
Toshihiro Nagoshi (often cited as the creator of the brilliant Yakuza and Like A Dragon game series) opened his new studio in 2021 and announced his next game with a very familiar title almost one year ago. Now, the Tokyo-based developer has closed its doors, as confirmed in the Japanese government gazette Kanpo.
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The news comes months after employees were told that the studio’s future was at risk due to NetEase’s funding cuts. Nagoshi Studio reportedly needed another £33.1 million (about $44.4m at the time) to get Gang of Dragon past the finish line – a paycheck NetEase purportedly didn’t want to cough up.
The China-based Marvel Rivals and Where Winds Meet publisher has been significantly scaling back on international investments these past few years. Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios was shut down just after launching its gorgeous action game, Worlds Untold (a studio formed by Mass Effect veteran Mac Walters) had to pause operations to find a new partner, and Halo Infinite lead Jerry Hook’s studio also ran into very similar issues last year.
Some developers have been a little luckier. Suda51’s Grasshopper Manufacture saved itself with a management buyout and now operates as an independent developer, for one.
Not much is known about Gang of Dragon, but its debut trailer featured the violent crime and high drama you’d expect from Nagoshi’s previous work. The game also starred Ma Dong-seok, the acclaimed actor you might recognise from films such as Train to Busan and Marvel’s Eternals.