{"id":68435,"date":"2026-06-19T11:58:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T02:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=68435"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T03:03:43","slug":"several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There has been nothing but uncertainty regarding the status of Toshihiro Nagoshi\u2019s Nagoshi Studio<\/strong> during the past year, and most recently, it\u2019s been confirmed that several development members, including employees occupying lead roles, have left the company. This comes after reports about NetEase Games pulling the studio\u2019s funding, followed by the company\u2019s official website going offline, and its offices being listed as \u201cpermanently closed\u201d on Google. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long ago, the studio\u2019s co-founder and game director Daisuke Sato\u00a0updated his biography on X<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cex-Nagoshi\u00a0Studio,\u201d indirectly confirming his departure. Additionally, Nagoshi himself appeared in a\u00a0Famitsu\u00a0feature\u00a0as an unaffiliated game creator<\/a>, raising concern.\u00a0Not only that,\u00a0but\u00a0according to\u00a0Game*Spark<\/a>, which\u00a0investigated\u00a0the LinkedIn profiles of known\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio staff members,\u00a0there are at least seven\u00a0other people who\u00a0are confirmed to have\u00a0left the company\u00a0as of May 31, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kazuki Hosokawa, who headed the studio\u2019s design department, explicitly announced<\/a> that he had resigned from Nagoshi Studio, commenting that he had spent the past four and a half years \u201csurrounded by talent\u201d and had a fullfilling time at the studio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, others simply changed their affiliations or employment statuses. This includes lead environment designer and design department deputy head Naoki Someya<\/a>, who is now affiliated with Lightspeed Japan instead, as well as technical artist Tomoharu Hosaka<\/a>, who has moved to Capcom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other ex-Nagoshi Studio developers joined Monster Strike developer MIXI as of June, including 3D cinematic artist Hiroya Wakui<\/a> and lead character artist Saizo Nagai<\/a>. Additionally, VFX artist Shuichi Takahashi<\/a> and character artist Toshihiro Ando<\/a> have not named new affiliations, but refer to Nagoshi Studio as their former employer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these big changes, there has yet to be any official statement regarding the status of Gang of Dragon \u2013 the studio\u2019s ambitious adult drama<\/a> starring Ma Dong-Seok \u2013 nor the company\u2019s future. Still, it\u2019s encouraging to see that some staff members have successfully moved on and found work at other companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: \u201cDo you get excited every time you see something pink?\u201d Like a Dragon creator Toshihiro Nagoshi reminisces about his fight for freedom of expression <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":68437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-68435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSeveral\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T02:58:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T03:03:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1468\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","description":"At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2026-06-19T02:58:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-19T03:03:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1468,"height":820,"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amber V","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amber V","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/"},"author":{"name":"Amber V","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/fdc6517a00e35b6917ffdb02e8b574d9"},"headline":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-06-19T02:58:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-19T03:03:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/"},"wordCount":453,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg","keywords":["News (Japan-related)"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/","name":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-19T02:58:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-19T03:03:43+00:00","description":"At least seven Nagoshi Studio employees, including devs in lead positions, have left as of the end of May 2026.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260619-68435-header.jpg","width":1468,"height":820,"caption":"Gang of Dragon"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/several-nagoshi-studio-development-members-confirmed-to-have-left-the-studio-and-moved-to-other-companies-like-capcom-lightspeed-japan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u30db\u30fc\u30e0","item":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Several\u00a0Nagoshi\u00a0Studio development members confirmed to have left the studio and moved to other companies like Capcom, LightSpeed Japan\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","name":"AUTOMATON WEST","description":"AUTOMATON is a website that covers the Japanese gaming world. We bring you the news on video games from Osaka and Tokyo.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","width":374,"height":190,"caption":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/AUTOMATON_ENG","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCabvYnvuUUbbGUrxkaFRgSA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/fdc6517a00e35b6917ffdb02e8b574d9","name":"Amber V","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/12252024-100x100.jpg","caption":"Amber V"},"description":"Editor-in-Chief since October 2023. She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/amber-vjestica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68435"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68444,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68435\/revisions\/68444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}