Like a Dragon series creator Nagoshi releases video of his face exploding, posts update about new studio 

NetEaseGame’s Nagoshi Studio published a promotional music video commemorating their 3^rd anniversary on November 1. Titled “MAKE/HUMAN,” the video features Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of Sega’s Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise and CEO of Nagoshi Studio himself. 

In the video, Nagoshi’s face suddenly bursts open, followed by a surreal sequence of flesh, cells and eyeballs. A post by Nagoshi Studio on X gives further context behind MAKE/HUMAN, explaining that the video “expresses the identity that the developer aspires to,” which includes pursuing unique craftsmanship in their games as well as touching human drama. 

To commemorate Nagoshi Studio’s third anniversary, Nagoshi shared a message with fans, in which he provides some information about the studio’s progress and principles (source: GameWatch): 

It’s been three years since we founded Nagoshi Studio. When I think back, we started with just a few people. At the beginning, we didn’t even have a landline, let alone a server, so we spent all our time creating plans and looking for staff. 

It was about six months later that the studio gradually began to take shape. I still had no idea what the future held, but I was supported by my dreams and the staff who came together to make those dreams a reality. 

Now, we have expanded our floor space, and we have a studio with more than 80 skilled staff members who are capable of producing games. Although it’s still too early for us to release our work into the world, we continue to devote ourselves to it every day. 

However, as our studio increases in scale and pursues the kind of games that the times demand, we have to be prepared to accept various changes in the technology and workflows that we use. Naturally, this is not an easy task, but no matter how much things change, the value each of our staff members place on “people” remains unchanged. We will continue to adhere to this principle as we strive to realize our goals. Thank you for your continued support. 

Nagoshi Studio has yet to make any game announcements, but it seems the developer’s scale has grown considerably in the past three years, and Nagoshi’s message implies that they are in the midst of development. Perhaps we can expect some more specific announcements in the near future.