Oli Welsh has been covering the business and culture of video games for two decades. He started out writing for Edge and other publications (specializing in MMOs and Blizzard, as cover for his World of Warcraft playtime) before joining Eurogamer, where he worked for 14 years as reviews editor, deputy editor, and editor-in-chief; Eurogamer won many Games Media Awards during his tenure. At Polygon, he writes about film and TV as well as games, and provides news, analysis, and criticism on the entertainment we love and the industries that make it, all from his home in London. He loves role-playing, racing, puzzles, tactics, exploration, storytelling, Nintendo, mysteries, spies, fantasy, reality, cars, and classic cinema. He wanted to be a movie critic when he grew up, and now he’s definitely grown up, and occasionally is one. He considers this a win.
Nagoshi Studio and its expensive gangster drama Gang of Dragon are no more
Nagoshi Studio, the developer founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has officially closed its doors after backer NetEase stopped its funding. Nagoshi Studio had been working on Gang of Dragon, a Yakuza-style crime drama starring Ma Dong-seok.
Japan’s official gazette, Kanpo, confirmed that the company was dissolved on Oct. 31. Back in March, Bloomberg reported that NetEase had decided to cut off Nagoshi Studio after learning that Gang of Dragon would cost another 7 billion yen ($44 million) to complete. Nagoshi Studio reportedly failed to find another backer for the game.
Gang of Dragon was too expensive for NetEase
Gang of Dragon was revealed at the 2025 Game Awards with a cinematic trailer that suggested an even more realistic and more violent take on gangster life in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district than that presented in the Yakuza games.
Chinese giant NetEase has been slimming down its gaming portfolio and divesting overseas investments since 2024, closing multiple studios as a result. Among these was a new MMO studio from World of Warcraft designer Greg Street.
Nagoshi Studio was founded in 2022 by Nagoshi and key members of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the Sega team responsible for the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Nagoshi had been at Sega for over 30 years, where he worked on Daytona USA, Shenmue, and Super Monkey Ball before creating the Yakuza series.