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Yakuza Creator’s Gang of Dragon PS5 Game and New Studio Officially Dead
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Nagoshi Studio, the developer founded by former Yakuza creator Toshiro Nagoshi, has officially closed, ending plans for its PS5 game Gang of Dragon. The closure confirms earlier reports that publisher NetEase had withdrawn funding, and means the announced project will not be completed.
The studio was dissolved by a shareholders’ resolution on 31 October 2026, according to a notice in Japan’s official gazette. Reports said the game needed a further ¥7 billion, about $44 million, to reach release. NetEase has been scaling back its international games business; Gang of Dragon had been presented as a melee action-adventure set in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, starring actor Ma Dong-seok as a Korean crime syndicate member.
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In short
- Nagoshi Studio officially closed on 31 October 2026.
- Gang of Dragon will not be released on PS5.
- Reports cited an extra ¥7 billion needed to finish the game.
How this story developed
- 23 minutes ago Nagoshi Studio, the developer founded by former Yakuza creator Toshiro Nagoshi, has officially closed, ending plans for its PS5 game Gang of Dragon. The closure confirms earlier reports that publisher NetEase had withdrawn funding, and means the announced project will not be completed.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
NetEase’s decision to withdraw funding can be defended as responsible stewardship if the project’s remaining ¥7 billion cost and uncertain prospects no longer justified the investment. A publisher must weigh one ambitious game against other commitments, and continuing to fund it could have increased losses for the company and its shareholders.
The case against
Withdrawing support can be criticised for ending a substantial creative project after the studio and its staff had committed to it, and for leaving plans unfinished. A publisher that helped enable a project may have responsibilities to its developers and partners, so critics could argue that it should have explored a transition, sale or orderly completion before pulling funding.
Explained simply
Toshiro Nagoshi is a Japanese game designer best known for creating the Yakuza series, about people and crime groups in modern Japan. He founded Nagoshi Studio after leaving Sega, the company behind Yakuza.
Gang of Dragon was planned as a new action-adventure game for PlayStation 5, set in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. It was to star actor Ma Dong-seok as a member of a Korean crime syndicate, and was separate from the Yakuza series.
The project depended on funding from NetEase, a Chinese internet and games company that has been expanding and then scaling back parts of its games business overseas. The studio’s closure means the planned game will not be completed, ending Nagoshi Studio’s effort to establish itself as an independent developer.