Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of the Yakuza series, has officially closed Nagoshi Studio and cancelled its debut action project Gang of Dragon. The developer opened in 2021 with financial backing from NetEase to produce a large scale crime game starring South Korean actor Ma Dong seok. The shutdown follows a complete withdrawal of funding by NetEase after projected production costs climbed past $40,000,000.
Japan official government gazette Kanpo published the formal liquidation notice confirming the dissolution of the Tokyo team. Bloomberg reported that management notified studio staff earlier in the year regarding the withdrawal of project funding. The decision arrived after internal budget audits showed the game required over $40,000,000 in additional capital to reach commercial completion. Online mapping services had already marked the physical development office as permanently closed ahead of the legal filing.
The closure terminates all work on Gang of Dragon, which was planned as a cinematic action title built around martial arts choreography and urban crime themes. This shutdown reflects a broader retrenchment by NetEase across its international gaming network. The publisher previously scaled back investments in several global teams, leading to closures and funding cuts at Worlds Untold run by a former Mass Effect writer, Bad Brain Game Studios formed by Watch Dogs veterans, and Fantastic Pixel Castle led by a former World of Warcraft designer.
