Yakuza Creator Toshihiro Nagoshi’s New Studio Shuts Down Before Releasing a Single Game
Nagoshi Studio, the Tokyo-based developer founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, is no more. According to Gematsu, a shareholders’ resolution officially dissolved the company on October 31, confirmed through a notice published in the Japanese government gazette Kanpo. The studio never got to release a single game.
A Troubled Debut Project
Nagoshi founded the studio under NetEase Games in November 2021, following a run of more than 30 years at Sega where he created the Yakuza series, known internationally as Like a Dragon. Nagoshi Studio’s only project, GANG OF DRAGON, was revealed in December 2025 with a brief CGI trailer at The Game Awards. The action adventure is set in Kabukicho, Shinjuku’s nightlife district, and stars Korean actor Ma Dong-seok as Shin Ji-seong, a high-ranking crime syndicate member caught up in underworld conflict.
The project ran into trouble just a few months after that reveal. In March 2026, Bloomberg reported that NetEase was pulling its funding from the studio, with Nagoshi reportedly seeking around $44 million to get the game across the finish line on his own. The official Gang of Dragon YouTube channel briefly went offline in April, and in May, the studio’s website disappeared entirely. No formal statement on the studio’s fate followed, and its Steam listing stayed up for months, leaving a faint chance that funding could still materialize, until this week’s dissolution notice closed that door for good.
GANG OF DRAGON never made it past its Steam coming soon page before Nagoshi Studio was dissolved.
Nagoshi’s Legacy Carries on Without Him
Nagoshi’s final credits at Sega were on Lost Judgment, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown before he departed to start his own studio. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, his former home, has stayed prolific without him, shipping five Yakuza and Like a Dragon titles since he left: 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.
The series isn’t slowing down either. Stranger Than Heaven, a Like a Dragon prequel spanning decades of Japanese history, is still set to launch on January 15, 2027, alongside a live-action Netflix adaptation announced earlier this year. Nagoshi Studio’s closure means Gang of Dragon won’t be joining it, but the wider franchise he built still has plenty of life left without him.
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Picture Source: Nagoshi Studio
