Toshihiro Nagoshi and former Team Yakuza staff establish Nagoshi Studio

‘People see their dreams in entertainment.’

Industry veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi has announced the formation of Nagoshi Studio, a new video game developer formed of the Yakuza creator and several key staff members from the formative days of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The new outfit will operate under NetEase to design and develop console games for worldwide release.

“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,” said Nagoshi in a pointed statement of intent. “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.”

“Nagoshi Studio is committed to creating content for the world to enjoy from this atmosphere.”

Nagoshi’s Dream Team

Toshihiro Nagoshi has formed a team of eight individuals to help lead Nagoshi Studio’s projects. This team is made up of individuals that already have strong ties with their head honcho, who left Ryu Ga Gotoko Studio back in October 2021. First and foremost is Nagoshi’s confidant and associate Daisuke Sato, who worked in close proximity with Nagoshi throughout the development of almost every Yakuza release. Saito is themselves a long-time Sega veteran, having previously been with the legendary publisher some 25 years.

Joining the duo are artist and Judgment producer Kazuki Hosokawa, coder Koji Tokieda, game designers/engineers Mitsunori Fujimoto, Masao Shirosaki, and Mitsunori Fujimoto, artists Naoki Someya and Toshihiro Ando, and director Taichi Ushioda — all of whom have worked within Sega, Ryu Ga Gotoku, or other major Japanese developers. Quite the party of talent, I’m sure you’ll agree.

With decades of industry experience, (not to mention a resume of fantastic releases), Nagoshi’s new squad looks set to be a major player in the coming years. With a team that can boast of contributing to franchises such as Yakuza, Judgment, Streets of Rage, Panzer Dragoon, Sakatsuko, and Jet Set Radio. It will be exciting to see how Nagoshi Studio will make their presence felt in this generation’s market.