Summary
Yakuzaseries creator Toshihiro Nagoshi’s next game could be in jeopardy, as NetEase reportedly makes a series of budget cuts including at his self-founded Nagoshi Studio. Nagoshi famously walked away from theYakuzaseries following the release of 2020’sYakuza: Like a Dragon, and his decision to join up with NetEase may be a costly one.
Nagoshi announced he was leaving Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio in October 2021, shortly after releasing his last title with the developer, the action-adventure gameLost Judgment, a standalone offshoot of theYakuzamain series.Nagoshi Studio was foundedsoon afterward, and while there’s still almost no information about it, the studio’s first game is planned to be a large-scale project.
It may have to be scaled back to meet time and budget constraints. A new report released byBloombergindicates that NetEase founder William Ding is eyeing major budget cuts across the several development studios working under the publishing company. These money-saving measures have already resulted in the loss of several jobs, includinglayoffs withinMarvel Rivals, as every member of that game’s Seattle-based development studio was let go earlier this week. That same report has bittersweet news for those anticipating the release of Nagoshi’s yet-to-be-named game. Nagoshi and his team will, according to unnamed sources in the report, be given time to wrap up their current project, although no additional funding or time for development is expected, nor is there any planned money in the budget for marketing or promotion of the game.
Nagoshi Studio’s First Game Faces Time and Budget Issues
While NetEase has spent years expanding its reach in the gaming industry, the report states that Ding is now pulling back to focus on more profitable, evergreengames likeEggy Party, a 2022 casual game available only on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices that saw its worldwide release in February 2024 and has seen particular success with children in mainland China. Reportedly, NetEase’s founder is now only interested in investing in games that are likely to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, a task Nagoshi’s planned game is apparently unlikely to meet.
Meanwhile, theYakuzafranchise seems to be doing well since Nagoshi’s departure. Four titles have been launched since he ended his tenure at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, including therelease ofLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiion February 21. The new action RPG is getting a lot of praise, with an 84 percent professional reviewer recommendation rate onOpenCritic, and positive early reviews from the few players who have already left a rating on Steam.
