Anyone hoping The Game Awards 2026 would bring some (good) news about Gang of Dragon — the new game from Toshiro Nagoshi, creator of Yakuza — is in for a disappointment. Today's edition of the Kanpō confirms what everyone feared: NetEase has decided to close Nagoshi Studio, effective 31 October 2026. The move fits the Chinese giant's drive to slash its investments in the games sector drastically, much like Tencent, which carried out a reassessment of its global portfolio back in June.
Back in March, Bloomberg reported that NetEase had told Nagoshi Studio staff it no longer wished to fund the development of Gang of Dragon from May onwards, especially after realising it would have to stump up another 7 billion yen (roughly £33 million) to get the project over the line.
As a reminder, Nagoshi Studio was founded in November 2021, just after Toshiro Nagoshi left SEGA the previous month. Unveiled in 2025 at The Game Awards, Gang of Dragon had a distinctly Yakuza-ish feel — a resemblance Nagoshi-san explained to our colleagues at Video Games Chronicles. “Of course, we're not going to make the same game, but I also know people expect something that looks like me as a creator. They want to find my tastes and my personality in my new games,” he said in 2023.
He then added: “I won't betray my fans. I'll develop a game in my own image, with a certain dramatic dimension to it. My tastes and my personality will very much be there. I can't tell you yet what genre it'll be, but I won't betray my fans.”
The Gang of Dragon announcement was also the moment it was confirmed that South Korean actor Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan, Eternals, Unstoppable, The Outlaws) was part of the cast. For now, what happens to the project is anyone's guess. Could Toshiro Nagoshi reclaim the rights to the IP and release the game under another publisher willing to foot the bill? Hard to say.
