Nagoshi Studio has finally revealed its first game, Gang of Dragon in this year’s The Game Awards.
The game has this description on Steam:
An action-adventure set in Kabukicho, the iconic nightlife district of Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Shin Ji-seong — portrayed by renowned Asian actor Ma Dong-seok — is a high-ranking member of a Korean crime syndicate based in Kabukicho. As he explores the streets of Shinjuku, Shin becomes entangled in underworld conflicts and forges intense, human connections that push him to confront his own sense of purpose.
Combat unfolds from a third-person perspective, centered on Shin’s overwhelming physical power. Engage enemies through brutal hand-to-hand strikes, precise blade attacks, gunplay, and high-impact vehicle action across the city.
Forge your own path through a story where violence and human bonds intertwine.
That Face Looks Familiar? Who Is Ma Dong-Seuk?
Ma Dong-Seuk is best known for his international breakout role in Train To Busan, playing a toughie who had as much selflessness as grit.
Ma would solidify his leading man status in Korea in 2017 crime film The Roundup: The Outlaws, playing a gritty detective determined to end a cycle of criminal-on-criminal violence.
Ma made his Hollywood debut in 2021 MCU movie Eternals, as Gilgamesh. But if we were honest, he’s still most known outside Korea as the Train to Busan guy.
This is a special opportunity to make Ma more famous outside Korea, even if it isn’t quite in Hollywood.
Why Does This Look Familiar? What’s Nagoshi Studio?
Nagoshi Studio was founded by former Yakuza director Toshihiro Nagoshi, after he left Sega to sign up for a new venture with NetEase.
Nagoshi was able to bring over these developers from Sega and Yakuza as well:
- Daisuke Sato – producer, was director and producer on the Yakuza franchise
- Kazuki Hosokawa – artist, was art director and director on Yakuza and producer on Judgement
- Koji Tokieda – programmer, was main programmer on Yakuza: Like A Dragon
- Masao Shirosaki – game designer, worked on multiple Sega games including Yakuza
- Mitsunori Fujimoto – engineer, mainly worked in IT for Sega
- Naoki Someya – artist, was art director for Judgement and background designer on Yakuza
- Taichi Ushioda – was director, producer, and project manager for Sega, Level-5, Square Enix
- Toshihiro Ando – artist, lead character designer on Judgement
Yes, We Know How Gang Of Dragon Will Be Different From Yakuza
We know most gamers who saw this trailer immediately thought that Gang of Dragon is just going to be another Yakuza-like. But like Judgement and Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Nagoshi wanted to explore making games beyond the conventions and limitations of Yakuza/Like A Dragon.
In an interview all the way back in August 2022, Nagoshi said that this game was going to be “more like a Quentin Tarantino film.” So maybe this time, we won’t be distracted by an open world of mini-games. Or maybe they’ll be completely different from what we’ve been used to.
You can watch the announcement trailer for Gang of Dragon below.
