Yakuza Creator's Gang of Dragon PS5 Game Really Does Seem Dead - Push Square

While it seems unlikely we will ever get official confirmation out of NetEase, it does indeed appear Gang of Dragon, from Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and his new development studio, has been quietly cancelled. Back in March, it was reported publisher NetEase was planning to pull its funding of Nagoshi Studio, leaving the team in a scramble to secure funds from elsewhere. It was said another ¥7 billion (~$44 million) would be needed to finish the project, and with NetEase no longer willing to provide the cash, Nagoshi Studio would stop receiving its funding in May. Nothing surrounding the closure of Nagoshi Studio or the cancellation of Gang of Dragon has been made public yet, but now there's mounting evidence that both these things have come to pass. On top of the developer's YouTube channel disappearing, Nagoshi will appear in this week's issue of Famitsu without any affiliation whatsoever to the new studio he founded or Gang of Dragon. He's done an interview with the magazine alongside many other Japanese creators, and he's the only one on the page without his company or history listed. Further, Daisuke Sato, who was serving as the studio director of Nagoshi Studio, now lists himself as "ex-Nagoshi Studio" on social media. Unfortunately, everything now points to this project never seeing the light of day. The initial pitch for Gang of Dragon, even if it basically was a Yakuza game in all but name, was the following: "Shin Ji-seong — portrayed by renowned Asian actor Ma Dong-seok — is a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate based in Kabukicho. As he explores the streets of Shinjuku, Shin becomes entangled in underworld conflicts and forges intense, human connections that push him to confront his own sense of purpose."