Last year at The Game Awards, Nagoshi Studio unveiled Gangs of Dragons. It was founded by famous game designer Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of the Yakuza series. Immediately following the announcement, the developer showed off gameplay and shared details, but did not announce an exact release date. Back in March, there were rumors that the game might be losing necessary funding, and now it looks like the studio has finally closed its doors.
VGC Editor-in-Chief Andy Robinson discussed the closure of Nagoshi Studio in the latest podcast. However, there has been no official announcement regarding the studio’s closure. Robinson said he also heard that Nagotsu has recently been applying for jobs at other game studios.
The studio’s first serious problems came to light in March 2026. Bloomberg later reported that NetEase will stop providing financing to Nagotsu Studio starting in May 2026. This decision was made because 7 billion yen (approximately $44 million at the time) was needed to complete the development of “Dragon Gang”. Mingos sought new investors but was unable to find financing.
Since then, there have been more signs of trouble for the studio and the game. In April, studio information and the Dragon Gang trailer disappeared from Nagoshi Studio’s YouTube channel, and in May the team’s official website ceased to be available. However, neither the studio nor NetEase announced the cancellation of the project or officially closed the company.
