NetEase Shuts Down Nagoshi Studios, Ending Development Of Gang Of Dragon
Yakuza creator's team sees funding cut without launching software
"ColonelFancy" Mike Lind
11/4/20261 min read
Toshihiro Nagoshi, noted for his work with Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios, has seen his relatively newly founded development team, Nagoshi Studios, shut down by parent company NetEase. The reporting comes from the official Japanese Gazette, through Automaton Media. After working for more than three decades at Sega working on Super Monkey Ball, Shenmue, and the Yakuza series, Nagoshi moved on to form his own team with fellow Yakuza director Daisuke Sato. Chinese internet company NetEase (Marvel Rivals) would list Nagoshi Studio as a subsidiary.
At the 2025 Game Awards, the team's first game received a reveal trailer for their crime drama action game, Gang of Dragon, starring Korean actor Ma Dong-seok.
With the funding cut and the studio dissolved before the game could get any further, this leaves its fate in great doubt, as it will very likely end up on the cutting room floor. NetEase, who has recently made decisions to scale back development costs, made the decision following a shareholder's meeting on October 31st, as the game was set to require an additional $44 million to fully fund the project. Efforts to lock down additional finances came up short.
Nagoshi Studio and Gang of Dragon are far from the only casualties of NetEase's ownership. Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studio was closed in 2024. Canadian-based team Bad Brain Studios was formed from a team of game development vets was similarly shut down in 2025 after failing to secure alternative funding for Midnight Riders. NetEase's global networking has seen the future of medium sized projects end up in limbo, or closed down altogether.
SOURCE: Autmaton Media