Daisuke Sato, the former director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio who left SEGA to join Toshihiro Nagoshi’s Nagoshi Studio, appears to have departed the company.
Sato recently updated his social media profile, which now reads: “Daisuke Sato/ex-Nagoshi Studio,Inc,” indicating that he no longer works at the NetEase-backed developer.
The change comes amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding Nagoshi Studio. Founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi after his departure from SEGA, the Tokyo-based studio was established under NetEase Games and brought together several veteran developers from the Japanese games industry, including Sato.
Nagoshi Studio’s debut project was Gang of Dragon, a third-person action-adventure game set in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district. The title starred Korean actor Ma Dong-seok and was designed around cinematic storytelling, close-quarters combat, vehicle action, and crime drama themes reminiscent of the Like a Dragon series.
Reports have suggested that the project encountered major financial difficulties after a significant funding withdrawal from its publisher. The game is widely believed to have been canceled before completion, although no formal cancellation announcement has been made.
Sato’s profile update is the latest indication that Nagoshi Studio’s operations may have come to an end. The studio’s website has gone offline, its social media accounts have been removed, and its office has reportedly been marked as permanently closed.
