As acquisitions continue to change the face of the video game industry, one of the most polarizing stories from 2021 was the departure of Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi after 30 years with the company to work for Chinese tech company NetEase. This came only six months after Nagoshi was promoted to Sega’s creative director role, overseeing all the company’s major video game output after spending years creating titles within theYakuzaandSuper Monkey Ballfranchises. Now, new evidence suggests that theYakuzacreator has gone on to found his own studio within NetEase.Nagoshi joined Sega in the late 80s and worked with legendary game designer Yu Suzuki on iconic titles such asDaytona USAandShenmuebefore eventually creating his own series,Super Monkey Ball, in 2003, shortly after Sega became a third-party publisher. Following this, Nagoshi would work onF-Zero GXbefore creating theYakuzaseries for the PlayStation 2 in an attempt to compete with bigger western games such asGrand Theft Auto. After the series became a big hit, Nagoshi founded Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio in 2011 and directed games such asBinary Domain,theJudgmentseries, and multiple entries in theYakuzaseries until his departure from Sega in October 2021.RELATED:Viral Video Shows Yakuza’s Kiryu and Majima Dancing Together In Real LifeMany fans were shocked by the announcement of Nagoshi’s departure from Sega last year, especially given the newfound popularity of theYakuzafranchise in the west after years of attempts at finding an audience outside of Japan. Regardless, many outlets reported that the purpose of Nagoshi’s departure was to found a new studio within NetEase, a company that hasinvested heavily in developers such as Bungie and Quantic Dream, and just recently also acquiredNo More Heroesdeveloper Grasshopper Manufacture. As VGC reports, a new trademark discovered on the EU IP office this month reveals that NetEase has created a subsidiary called “Nagoshi Studio.”
Upon his departure from Sega last year, Nagoshi was joined by several other veterans of theYakuzafranchise including Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Daisuke Sato. With this in mind, it would appear that Nagoshi is intent oncreating a new team to develop a brand-new IP under NetEase, however it is unknown what form this new title will take.
NetEase has a history of developing and publishing mobile titles, but itsacquisition of Grasshopper Manufactureand ex-Yakuzaveterans indicates that the company is intent on breaking into the console market. With this in mind, it’s very likely that Nagoshi Studio could be developing a game intended to rival theYakuzaseries or even higher, with the backing of NetEase possibly giving the company a budget high enough to rival bigger AAA productions. Only time will tell.
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