Nagoshi Studio, founded by Yakuza creator, officially shuts down

Nagoshi Studio, the company founded by Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has officially closed. According to a notice published in Kanpo, the Japanese government's official gazette, the studio was dissolved on 31 October at a shareholders' meeting, Engadget reports. It will now liquidate its assets and settle outstanding liabilities.

What happened to Gang of Dragon

Nagoshi left Sega, where he led the Yakuza (Like a Dragon) series for years, and set up his own studio to make a new crime action game. That game, Gang of Dragon, got its first trailer in December 2025. It looked like a spiritual successor to Yakuza, again set in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district but told through a new protagonist, Shin Ji-Seong, and seemingly with a darker tone.

Funding then fell apart. According to a Bloomberg report cited by Engadget, NetEase, one of the studio's backers, pulled its financing, and the game reportedly still needed more than $44 million to be finished. Nagoshi Studio had been looking for other investors to complete it.

The dissolution notice suggests that search didn't succeed. Gang of Dragon's Steam page is still online, but with the studio being wound up, it's unclear whether another company could pick up the project or whether it is effectively cancelled. Neither Nagoshi nor NetEase has commented publicly on the game's fate in the sources so far.

Why it matters

New studios building large console-quality games need years of funding before any revenue arrives, so losing a single backer can sink a project even with a famous name attached. For players, it's a reminder that a trailer and a wishlist button are no guarantee a game will ship.

If you're planning what to play this winter instead, our PC game controller buying guide and gaming monitor guide cover the hardware side.