I’m sad that the Like A Dragon creator’s new studio is closing, but I wish their now-cancelled debut Gang of Dragon wasn’t just LAD again

Nagoshi Studio has been dissolved by a shareholders’ resolution, ending development of its debut game, Gang of Dragon, less than a year after the game was announced. The closure follows the loss of funding from NetEase and highlights how rising costs and reliance on a single investor can threaten a young studio before it releases a game.

Gang of Dragon was set in Tokyo’s Kabukicho and featured actor Ma Dong-seok, realistic visuals, combat, gunplay and car chases. Reports in March said the project’s costs had risen to around seven billion yen, after which NetEase planned to withdraw its funding in May; the studio did not find another source. The article argues that the game appeared too much like the Like a Dragon series, and hopes creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and his team can make another game in future.