Nagoshi Studio, the studio formed by Yakuza creator Toshiro Nagoshi at NetEase, has been shut down before it even released its first game. According to Gematsu, shareholders officially dissolved the developer on October 31 via a resolution later published in the Japanese government gazette Kanpo.
Under Nagoshi, the studio worked on Gang of Dragon, a new game that looked similar to the veteran developer’s work on Sega’s Yakuza and Like a Dragon series at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Work on the game continued over the years, and a trailer was shown at The Game Awards last year, but in March, reports said NetEase had pulled its funding for the project. The official Gang of Dragon YouTube channel also went down for a brief time in April, and in May, the game’s website was whacked.
So why did the studio shut down? Exact details on the reasoning behind its closure haven’t been revealed yet, but in March, Bloomberg reported that Nagoshi was seeking another $44 million to get Gang of Dragon across the finish line, a figure NetEase may have decided wasn’t worth investing in further.
Meanwhile, Nagoshi’s former home, RGG Studio, has released multiple games since he left. Nagoshi’s final credits with Sega were for Lost Judgment, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown; since then, RGG Studio has released five games in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise. These include prequels, sequels, and remakes: Like a Dragon: Ishin, Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Gaiden: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.
Next year will see the launch of Stranger Than Heaven, described as a distant prequel to Like a Dragon that spans 50 years.
