Nagoshi Studio Dissolved After NetEase Funding Cut

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Nagoshi Studio Dissolved After NetEase Funding Cut

The Yakuza creator’s NetEase-backed studio was dissolved less than a year after revealing Gang of Dragon. What happened, and what I think it means.

Game Development, Games Industry

November 4, 2026

2–3 minutes

indie game dev, netease, netease games

Nagoshi Studio, the NetEase-backed developer founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has been dissolved less than a year after it revealed Gang of Dragon at The Game Awards. I saw the news trending on Google, and it landed harder than I expected because I was looking forward to this game.

World Premiere Trailer

What Happened

A notice in Japan’s official gazette, the Kanpo, published on November 2, 2026 states that the company was dissolved by a shareholders’ resolution on October 31. NetEase Games funded the studio in full, so I assume NetEase is the shareholder that voted, but the notice itself does not say who did.

When a Japanese company is dissolved it enters liquidation, where assets and debts are settled. In the reports I found, neither NetEase nor Nagoshi has said anything official about what happens to Gang of Dragon.

How It Got Here

In March, Bloomberg reported that NetEase would stop funding the studio from May, after learning the game needed roughly another 7 billion yen (about 44 million US dollars) to finish. NetEase confirmed the funding stop. The studio could have continued independently, but reportedly would have had to pay for its existing assets and brand. We previously blogged about it here: Gang of Dragon! to disappear if Nagoshi Studio cannot find new funding.

After that the studio’s website and YouTube channel went offline. Company registry details reported by Game*Spark show Nagoshi left his director role on March 31, 2026. Game Informer notes that he apparently could not find new funding. Other NetEase-backed studios have also closed or gone independent as the company pulls back from overseas investment.

My Take

I really was looking forward to Gang of Dragon after the trailer debut. My guess is that the game cost more than it looked like on screen. The reported 7 billion yen shortfall points that way, but I don’t know the real budget.

I think the future of game development leans toward indie-style projects: small budgets and development cycles of around a year. A single backer walking away should not be able to end a project, and that is the lesson I take from this for my own work.