Nagoshi Studio Dies Before Its First Game Sees Daylight
Nagoshi Studio, the Tokyo developer founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has been formally dissolved. Japan's official gazette Kanpo confirmed on November 2, 2026 that the company was wound up by a shareholders' resolution on October 31. After about five years in existence, the studio never shipped a single game.
Nagoshi spent more than 30 years at Sega, working on Daytona USA, Shenmue and Super Monkey Ball before creating the Yakuza series. After leaving Sega's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, he founded Nagoshi Studio in Tokyo's Shinjuku in 2021 alongside Yakuza series director Daisuke Sato and other close collaborators, with funding from China's NetEase Games.
The studio stayed quiet for years, then unveiled its debut title, Gang of Dragon (GANG OF DRAGON), at The Game Awards in December 2025. The action-adventure crime drama, set in Shinjuku including Kabukicho and starring Korean actor Ma Dong-seok as Shin Ji-seong, drew immediate comparisons to Nagoshi's Yakuza games and was warmly received.
In March 2026, Bloomberg reported that NetEase would stop funding the studio from May 2026. The trigger: NetEase learned the game would need at least another 7 billion yen (about $44.4 million) to finish. Nagoshi reportedly tried to find new investors and buy the studio out, but failed to secure a backer.
Doubts had been building for months. About a month before the official notice, the studio's website and YouTube channel went offline, and Sato changed his social media bio to read ex-Nagoshi Studio. October reports of a quiet closure are now confirmed by the gazette filing.
The closure fits NetEase's broader pullback from international game investments since 2024. Ouka Studio, Jar of Sparks and Worlds Untold were cut, while Suda 51's Grasshopper Manufacture split from NetEase in September to go independent. Nagoshi Studio could not repeat that escape.
Gang of Dragon has not been officially cancelled, but with its developer gone and no word on the IP, its chances look slim. As of November 2, its Steam page was still live, still listing Nagoshi Studio as developer and publisher with a "Coming soon" tag. What happens to the staff is equally unclear.
From a star creator's high-profile exit from Sega to a lavishly backed new studio to dissolution less than a year after its first reveal, Nagoshi's independent chapter has ended in failure. Fans of his crime dramas must now wait to see where he and his team land next.
When a famous creator leaves a big studio to go independent, what do you think matters most: money, creative freedom, or timing? Share a Yakuza or Nagoshi-era game that meant something to you.