Nagoshi Studio Dissolved: What Happens to Gang of Dragon

Nagoshi Studio, the Tokyo developer founded by Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has been formally dissolved. A notice in Japan's Official Gazette, Kanpo, published on Monday 2 November 2026 in Extra Issue No. 240, says Nagoshi Studio Inc. was dissolved by a resolution of its shareholders' meeting on 31 October. The studio's only announced game, the Kabukicho crime action game Gang of Dragon, now has no developer behind it.

The notice is a standard liquidation filing. It lists the company's address in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, names a representative liquidator, and asks creditors to file claims within two months from the day after publication, so until early January 2027. Claims not filed in that window are excluded from the liquidation. None of the coverage so far includes a statement from Nagoshi Studio or NetEase Games.

How the studio got here

Nagoshi left Sega in late 2021 after more than three decades there, during which he created Yakuza, the series now sold as Like a Dragon. Chinese publisher NetEase Games set up Nagoshi Studio as a wholly owned subsidiary and announced it in January 2022, with the goal of making big-budget console games for a global audience.

Gang of Dragon was revealed at The Game Awards in December 2025. It stars Korean actor Ma Dong-seok (Don Lee) as Shin Ji-seong, in a story that plays out across Shinjuku, including Kabukicho. Three months later, Bloomberg reported that NetEase would stop funding the studio in May 2026. A NetEase spokesperson confirmed the funding cut to Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg's sources, NetEase found the game needed at least ¥7 billion (about $44 million) more to finish, and Nagoshi had not found a new backer. The studio could reportedly go independent, but would only keep the game's assets and brand if it paid its way out.

Timeline

What happens to Gang of Dragon

Nothing official has been said about the game itself. Its Steam page was still live on 2 November, listing Nagoshi Studio Inc. as developer and publisher, a Windows release and a "Coming soon" date. It never had a price or a release window. With the company in liquidation, the game can only come back if someone acquires its assets, and no buyer has been reported.

The closure fits a wider pattern. Bloomberg described the funding cut as part of NetEase's broader push to shrink game development, and Anime News Network notes that it laid off most of Ouka Studios, the Tokyo team behind Visions of Mana, in 2024 before closing it. For players, the bigger point is that one of Japan's best-known action game directors no longer has a studio, less than a year after showing his first new project.

Confirmed and not confirmed

Confirmed: the 31 October dissolution by shareholders' resolution and the creditor notice, both in Kanpo; the Gang of Dragon Steam listing; and NetEase's decision to stop funding, which its spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg in March.

Not confirmed: whether Gang of Dragon is cancelled outright or could be sold, what happened to the remaining staff, and what Toshihiro Nagoshi does next. He hasn't commented publicly, and we'll update this story if he or NetEase does.

If you want an open-world crime game set in an Asian city in the meantime, our Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition explainer covers one set in Hong Kong, and our Saints Row games guide maps out another open-world crime series. For a very different story about a new Asian studio, see how Phantom Blade Zero launched, and for Nagoshi's old company, our Sega hardware page. Gang of Dragon was never priced for India or any other region.