Nagoshi Studio, the NetEase-owned developer founded by “Yakuza” creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has closed without releasing a game. Shareholders resolved to dissolve the Tokyo company Oct. 31, according to a notice in Japan’s official gazette, Kanpo, first reported by Gematsu.
The notice ran Nov. 2 in Kanpo extra issue No. 240 and gives no reason for the decision, KeenGamer reported. It names Minoru Morinaga as representative liquidator.
How the money ran out
Staff were told in early March that NetEase would stop paying for the studio, and a NetEase spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that financing would end in May. According to Bloomberg’s report, the decision came after NetEase found “Gang of Dragon” would need at least 7 billion yen ($44.4 million) more to finish.
NetEase didn’t shut the door completely. Bloomberg’s sources said the studio could carry on alone, but it would have to cover the cost of keeping the game’s assets or brand. Nagoshi was hunting for new sponsors at the time and hadn’t found any. No new backer was ever announced.
Nagoshi was already off the board
The end came in stages. Company registry records show Nagoshi and the other directors stepped down effective March 31, leaving Morinaga as sole director by October, according to GameBusiness and KeenGamer.
The public side faded too. The studio’s website went offline and its YouTube channel disappeared around May, Automaton reported. At least seven staffers had left by May 31, according to Automaton, which cited a Game*Spark review of LinkedIn profiles. Some landed at Capcom, Lightspeed Japan and Mixi.
Where ‘Gang of Dragon’ stands
“Gang of Dragon” was the studio’s first and only announced project. Revealed at The Game Awards on Dec. 11, 2025, the PC action-adventure is set in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district and stars Korean American actor Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee, as a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate.
The game hasn’t been formally canceled. Its Steam page was still live with a “Coming soon” release date after the notice ran, and neither NetEase nor Nagoshi had commented on it, KeenGamer reported. With its developer in liquidation, though, there’s no obvious path to release. Who controls the game’s existing work hasn’t been made public.
Part of a wider NetEase pullback
NetEase established Nagoshi Studio as a wholly owned subsidiary in November 2021, shortly after Nagoshi left Sega, and announced it in January 2022. Bloomberg reported that NetEase and Tencent both competed for him as they recruited Japanese talent.
NetEase has since moved the other way. Bloomberg tied the funding cut to a broader plan to shrink game development, one that also closed Tokyo’s Ouka Studios in late 2024. And on Sept. 30, Goichi Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture announced it was leaving NetEase to go independent again. That studio, unlike Nagoshi’s, is still standing.
What’s next
Creditors have two months from the day after the notice ran to file claims. Morinaga will oversee the liquidation, and any word on the game’s assets is most likely to come from NetEase or the liquidator.
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