Nagoshi Studio officially shut down, Goodbye Gang of Dragon
After months of speculation, NetEase has officially shut down Nagoshi Studio. Created by SEGA veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi, the studio dissolved after the Chinese tech company halted funding, further affecting the development of its upcoming game, Gang of Dragon.
Gang of Dragon drew widespread attention among Yakuza fans after its announcement at the 2025 Game Awards ceremony. It stars famous South Korean action star Ma Dong-seok (also known as Don Lee), who plays Shin Ji-seong, a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate operating in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district.
Nagoshi Studio officially shut down, Goodbye Gang of Dragon
According to Crunchyroll, Nagoshi Studio included former Ryu Ga Gotoku developers, including Daisuke Sato, Kazuki Hosokawa, Koji Tokieda, Masao Shirosaki, Mitsunori Fujimoto, Naoki Someya, Taichi Ushioda, and Toshihiro Ando.
The studio shut down nearly five years after forming. Reports indicated that Gang of Dragon would need tens of millions of dollars to complete development, and NetEast was not keen on providing it.
Anticipating fans took to social media upon hearing the news:
“Someone needs to go back to the 2025 Game Awards and make a list of every announcement that got cancelled/shut down before this year’s Game Awards.”
“Mudang and this, two games I was massively hyped for gone.”
“RIP Gang of Dragon, pretty much killed in the womb. I’ve had people tell me that the guy in charge wasn’t making good use of the money, so I guess it’s only to be expected.”
