Updated
Updated · Push Square · Jun 18
NetEase Funding Pull Appears to Kill Nagoshi's $44 Million Gang of Dragon PS5 Game
Updated
Updated · Push Square · Jun 18

NetEase Funding Pull Appears to Kill Nagoshi's $44 Million Gang of Dragon PS5 Game

3 articles · Updated · Push Square · Jun 18

Summary

  • Fresh signs point to a quiet cancellation of Gang of Dragon: Toshihiro Nagoshi appears in Famitsu with no studio affiliation, while director Daisuke Sato now identifies himself as "ex-Nagoshi Studio."
  • The apparent collapse follows NetEase's reported decision to stop funding Nagoshi Studio, leaving the team needing another ¥7 billion, or about $44 million, to finish the PS5 project.
  • Other traces of the studio's disappearance have piled up, including its YouTube channel going offline; earlier reports also said its website shut down and its Tokyo office was marked permanently closed.
  • Gang of Dragon had been pitched as a crime drama set in Kabukicho starring Ma Dong-seok's Shin Ji-seong, but the evidence now suggests Nagoshi's post-Yakuza debut will never be released.

Insights

Why did the Yakuza creator's dream studio fail, even with backing from a gaming giant?
Is the era of big-budget independent games from star creators officially over?