While it didn’t outright state the reason, anonymous sources told the website that the upcoming title would reportedly require ¥7 billion or $44.4 million of funding to complete. As a result, NetEase is leaving the studio to go its own way, but while it could carry on development, it would allegedly need to pay for the IP and its assets.

As a result, Nagoshi is reportedly in the process of locating “new sponsors,” but thus far, there’s been no headway. If it can’t procure enough funding, then the title may face cancellation. It’s worth noting that Nagoshi Studios was established in 2022, and development has seemingly been ongoing ever since.

Announced at The Game Awards 2025, Gang of Dragon is similar to Yakuza with its beat ’em up mechanics, an action-adventure format, and Kabukicho as a setting. Players control Shin Ji-seong (played by actor Ma Dong-seok), who’s part of a Korean syndicate. It also promises “gunplay” and “high-impact vehicle action” with the option to customize one’s rides.

“The passion and enthusiasm we received from game fans around the world have been a tremendous source of strength and encouragement for our entire team,” said Nagoshi in a New Year’s Greetings post on the studio’s official site.

He described Gang of Dragon as a “human drama centered on outcasts living in the real district of Kabukicho.” “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.”

And while there’s currently no release window for the platform, Nagoshi hoped that this year would be “filled with a wonderful and fulfilling game life for all players.”

Gang of Dragon stars Ma Dong-seok, a veteran actor and director best known for Train to Busan and Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (and also featuring in Kojima Productions’ Physint). He plays Shin Ji-seong, a member of a Korean crime syndicate caught up in some infernal, underworld affairs. Though the finer plot details remain unknown, he’ll forge “intense, human connections that push him to confront his own sense of purpose,” per the game’s Steam page.

Much like Yakuza, Gang of Dragon features melee combat, both bare-handed and with weapons, though you can also wield firearms. Perhaps the biggest difference is the ability to drive vehicles and engage in “high-impact” action. You can even modify them in different ways.

We’ll need to wait for more details, but it’s been quite the journey for Nagoshi, who left Sega in 2021 to establish his new studio under NetEase Games in 2022. Interestingly, he likened it to a Quentin Tarantino film back in 2022, perhaps hinting at more brutal events and dark humor than Yakuza.

Alongside the trailer, Gang of Dragon also has a Steam page that reveals more details about the title. The game is slated to take place in the nightlife district of Shinjuku, Tokyo – Kabukicho (which also served as the inspiration behind the Yakuza franchise’s Kamurocho). Shin Ji-seong has been described as a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate that is based in Kabukicho, and the story of Gang of Dragon will largely revolve around him getting caught in the midst of underworld conflicts.

While not too many details about the gameplay have been confirmed, the combat has been described as being in the third-person perspective and focusing on melee combat with brutal hand-to-hand strikes and precise blade attacks, as well as ranged combat through the use of various weaponry, from guns to grenades. Along with this, the title will also seemingly have driving sequences, with one of its screenshots indicating the ability to modify cars in various ways.

The trailer itself didn’t reveal too many details about the story in Gang of Dragon, instead opting to showcase the kind of brutality that players can expect from the title. Unlike Nagoshi’s previous works – the Yakuza series – the protagonist this time around is a much more brutal one that doesn’t shy away from picking up heavy weaponry to take out enemies for good. While Yakuza franchise protagonists Kiryu and Ichiban have both avoided killing their enemies over the course of the games, Gang of Dragon’s Shin Ji-seong doesn’t seem to have any such reservations against killing his foes.

Gang of Dragon doesn’t yet have a release date. Nagoshi Studio also hasn’t confirmed what platforms the title will be coming to, however it is easy to expect it to make its way to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Toshiro Nagoshi had announced his departure from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega alongside fellow veteran game developer Daisuke Sato all the way back in October 2021. A few months later in January 2022, Nagoshi announced a partnership with NetEase Games to found Nagoshi Studio, where he serves as president and CEO.

When the studio’s founding was announced, Nagoshi noted that one of his goals with the new venture was to create a more “open atmosphere” that would allow developers quite a bit of freedom. This, he said, was because “even the most talented creators cannot fully unleash their abilities in isolation.” To achieve this, the studio 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.”

Nagoshi states that mechanics for his next game are still being fleshed out, and that casting for its characters will begin once the mechanics are more solidified.

“At this point, we’re mostly focusing on trying to improve the core gameplay, so we are still at the early stage of selecting actors,” Nagoshi said. “But it’s definitely the plan because I want to create something cinematic, and I want to use the fame and popularity of actors to make my game known by more people.”

When asked if his game would look to more international actors in a bid to raise the potential appeal for his next project on a global stage, Nagoshi replied, “Yeah. If we’re going to use actors, there’s definitely a high possibility that we’d use someone outside of Japan.”

For the sake of context, the Yakuza franchise, now renamed Like a Dragon, has traditionally featured several Japanese actors playing the roles of its various characters on both sides of the law. This year’s Like a Dragon: Ishin! saw many actors return from Yakuza 0 to don the roles of several characters.

Nagoshi has previously compared his next game with the works of Quentin Tarantino, stating that it will contain violence as a game element, and that there will also be room for humour. “Something that’s just intimidating or just gory and brutal isn’t to my liking—I want a human touch, some silliness, and some seriousness—that’s what I’m in the mood for right now,” he said.

Nagoshi is currently working with publisher NetEase in his recently-established new studio, Nagoshi Studio.

“Of course I can’t reveal too much about our game just yet, but I can give you a rough idea: It will definitely contain violence as a game element, but I don’t want to go too much in the direction of thrillers or even horror,” said Nagoshi about his next game. “I want my game to be more like a Quentin Tarantino film, so there’s room for humor. Something that’s just intimidating or just gory and brutal isn’t to my liking—I want a human touch, some silliness, and some seriousness—that’s what I’m in the mood for right now.

Nagoshi has refrained from revealing any more details about his next game, however. When pressed for details, Nagoshi said that we wouldn’t have to wait for much longer for details.

“Again, I have to remain vague. But it’s like this: If I have an idea and want to implement it—then it soon bubbles out of me,” he said. “I’m not the type to hold back something like this for long. So you probably won’t have to wait around for much longer… Or let’s say: I think I’ll go public with this a lot sooner than other developers would!”

Nagoshi left Sega in October 2021, and formed a new studio under publisher NetEase earlier this year. The last major release Nagoshi worked on was Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which has seen critical and commercial success.

In an official statement (translation via Gematsu), Nagoshi said, “The sea of change that began in the entertainment industry in the late 20th century has brought even greater change to the industry in the 21st century. Changes to entertainment content, how it’s made and the business model driven by technology and infrastructure advances have sparked a paradigm shift, and these changes are continuing to unfold with greater and greater speed. What only yesterday had been considered the height of cool now suddenly becomes outdated before you know it.

“For creators, this makes working in the industry today incredibly challenging. But no matter how the times change, I believe that what people essentially want from entertainment has not changed one bit. People see their dreams in entertainment. People look to entertainment to give them hope in life, to soothe them in times of difficulty, and to add excitement in happy times. People look to entertainment to provide the spark for all kinds of events.

“The appetite for entertainment is the same today as it was in the past. There are obviously differences between the past and the present in how entertainment is consumed, its volume and velocity, but its essence remains the same. The only way to deliver this essence to the world is if all creators approach the works they create with seriousness and clarity while grinding away to get closer to reaching the ideal.”

One of Nagoshi’s goals at the new studio is to create an “open atmosphere” since he believes that “even the most talented creators cannot fully unleash their abilities in isolation.” This entails having “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. This means not giving up on reaching the ideal, and fighting to get closer to it.”

Other founding members of the studio include Daisuke Sato, who served as director and producer for the Yakuza series, and will now be a director at Nagoshi Studio; artist Kazuki Hosokawa who became art director and director for the Yakuza series along with a producer on the Judgment series; programmer Koji Tokieda who was the main programmer for Yakuza: Like a Dragon; and many more. Some have also worked with Nagoshi since the Amusement Vision days along with having experience on other Sega titles.

Of course, it may be a while before Nagoshi Studio is ready to announce its first major game so we’ll need to wait for more details. The studio’s establishment is only one of many high-profile moves by NetEase in the past year. It acquired Sumo Digital and No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture while also partnering with Xbox Game Studios and World’s Edge to create a mobile Age of Empires title.