With the recent news that NetEase Games was pulling the plug on funding Toshihiro Nagoshi’s Gang of Dragon, it looks like the official YouTube page hosting the reveal trailer has now gone offline. It is worth noting that Nagoshi Studio hasn’t yet made an official statement regarding the state of development.
The trailer is still on other YouTube channels, including the The Game Awards where it was first unveiled. The Nagoshi Studio X account also remains online, and the pinned post still links to the original reveal trailer for Gang of Dragon. However, the last post made on the account was all the way back in early February. Interestingly, even the Steam page remains online.
The decision to cut funding for Gang of Dragon allegedly came from the fact that it was going to need ¥7 billion for development, which roughly translates to around $44.4 million. With the partnership ending, Nagoshi Studio would need to pay NetEase Games for the IP and assets if it wants to continue development. In the meantime, Nagoshi himself is noted to be in the hunt for “new sponsors.”
Gang of Dragon is the first game by Nagoshi, who is known for his hand in creating the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise. He founded Nagoshi Studio in 2022 after he departed from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios and was said to have been working on the title since then.
When he first founded his studio, he wanted to create an “open atmosphere” where developers would have a lot of freedom, since “even the most talented creators cannot fully unleash their abilities in isolation.” This means that the studio also has “open-ended discussions that ignore seniority and hierarchy” and “not fearing mistakes while also not being afraid to correct them, and treating failures as assets.”
The game focuses on Kabukichō – the nightlife district of Shinjuku, Tokyo – and would star Ma Dong-seok as protagonist Shin Ji-seong. The character is a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate, with the story focusing on a large conflict between various underworld factions. Interestingly, the real-world location of Kabukichō also serves as the inspiration behind the Yakuza franchise’s Kamurocho.
Gang of Dragon will feature real-time action combat with a third-person perspective, including melee combat with brutal hand-to-hand strikes and blade attacks and some gunplay for the larger fights. It’s also slated to offer vehicular gameplay complete with customization.
In an interview, Nagoshi had explained that everything in Gang of Dragon was “conceived and built from the ground up.” He also described its story as a “human drama centered on outcasts living in the real district of Kabukichō.”
“From the cityscape and world setting to the overall gameplay experience, every element has been conceived and built from the ground up as we move forward with planning and development. Our team remains fully committed to creating a work that we can confidently deliver to players around the world.”
