Yakuza Series Creator Starts New Studio With NetEase

NetEase Games has announced that it has started a new studio with Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, aptly called Nagoshi Studio. The new studio is focusing on high-quality console titles with the goal of releasing them worldwide.

"I believe that the first step to creating high-quality titles and delivering the essence of entertainment with strong motivation starts with creating an open atmosphere in the studio," says Nagoshi Studio in a statement (translated via Gematsu).

The statement continues, "This means having open-ended discussions that ignore seniority and hierarchy. This means not fearing mistakes while also not being afraid to correct them, and treating failures as assets. This means not giving up on reaching the ideal, and fighting to get closer to it. This may seem so simple, but the simplest things can unexpectedly be the hardest to do, and at the same time the most important. Nagoshi Studio is committed to creating content for the world to enjoy from this atmosphere."

Nagoshi and producer Daisuke Sato left Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku back in October 2021, and they are founding members of Nagoshi Studio, along with several other Sega veterans. Joining them are director Tachi Ushioda, engineer Mitsunori Fujimoto, programmer Koji Tokieda, and designer Masao Shirosaki. Naoki Someya, Toshihiro Ando, and Kazuki Hosokawa join as the artists.

While the original Yakuza series creators have moved on, they are confident in the new and younger developers taking over the franchise. Ryu Ga Gotoku is currently developing a sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and we've yet to see what Nagoshi Studio will create, but it should be exciting.