The new studio founded by the creator of Yakuza, or Like a Dragon, was apparently unable even to reach the completion of its first game.

Over the past year, the situation surrounding Toshihiro Nagoshi’s studio, Nagoshi Studio, has been defined entirely by uncertainty, and the latest reports have confirmed that several developers, including employees in leadership positions, have left the company. This followed reports that NetEase Games had withdrawn funding from the studio, after which the company’s official website disappeared from the internet and Google marked its offices as permanently closed.

Recently, the studio’s co-founder and game director, Daisuke Sato, changed his Twitter bio to “ex-Nagoshi Studio,” indirectly confirming his departure. In addition, Nagoshi himself appeared as an indie game developer in a Famitsu article, which raised concerns. That is not all: according to Game*Spark, which examined the LinkedIn profiles of known Nagoshi Studio staff, at least seven other people have been confirmed to have left the studio as of the final day of May.

Kazuki Hosokawa, who headed the studio’s design division, explicitly announced that he had left Nagoshi Studio, adding that he had spent the past four and a half years with talented people and devoted his full time to the studio. Others simply changed their employer or employment status. This includes Naoki Someya, the former lead environment designer and deputy head of the design division, who now works at Lightspeed Japan, as well as technical artist Tomoharu Hosaka, who has joined Capcom.

Since June, two further developers who previously worked at Nagoshi Studio have joined Mixi, the developer of Monster Strike, including 3D animator Hiroya Wakui and lead character designer Saizo Nagai. In addition, visual-effects designer Shuichi Takahashi and character designer Toshihiro Ando have not named their new employers, but list Nagoshi Studio as their former employer.

Despite these substantial changes, there has still been no official statement concerning either the status of Gang of Dragon or the company’s future. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that several employees have successfully moved on and found work at other companies.

Source: Automaton, Twitter, Game*Spark, LinkedIn, Naoki Someya, Tomoharu Hosaka, Hiroya Wakui, Saizo Nagai, Shuichi Takahashi, Toshihiro Ando