Back in December of last year, Nagoshi Studio premiered the trailer for its gritty action-adventure Gang of Dragon, which is set to be Toshihiro Nagoshi’s debut title with the new studio. However, despite kicking off on a rather promising note, development ended up in a standstill, with Nagoshi Studio needing an additional $44.4 million in funding in order to complete the project.
As reported by Bloomberg, this led NetEase, its parent company, to pull the developer’s funding altogether starting May 2026, leaving Nagoshi Studio on what some speculated to be the brink of closure. Taking a look at Nagoshi Studio’s social media accounts, updates ceased around February, which is one month before the investor announced it would stop funding the studio.
Around May, fans pointed out that Nagoshi Studio’s official website became inaccessible, and its YouTube channel deleted, further supporting the theory that the studio may not be making a comeback. While NetEase did offer Nagoshi Studio to pay its way towards independence, it is unclear whether the developer has been negotiating with another investor, or if the project is still in limbo.
Interestingly, a recent announcement by the Japanese video-game magazine Weekly Famitsu has provided fans with another “hint” pointing to Nagoshi Studio’s uncertain situation. This week’s issue of the magazine will be a special one, commemorating 40 years since the publication’s launch, and for the occasion, Famitsu will be publishing 52 celebratory interviews with famous industry veterans.
Among them is also Toshihiro Nagoshi, and Famitsu’s preview of the special feature seems to have excluded his company affiliation from his profile introduction. While all other developers have their respective companies clearly stated (ex. Yoshida Naoki – Square Enix; Katsuhiro Harada – VS Studio SNK), and none-affiliated developers are listed as “freelancers,” Toshihiro Nagoshi is only described as a “game creator,” without further elaboration on his current status.
While we’ll still have to wait for an official announcement regarding the future of Gang of Dragon, the fact that Nagoshi Studio isn’t mentioned in its director’s introduction has been interpreted as bad news by commenters in Japan. On the other hand, it is possible that Nagoshi and his team are unable to commit to such clarifications due to ongoing proceedings or negotiations.
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