Yakuza creator reportedly starting a new studio for Chinese publisher NetEase

When Yakuza studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi left Sega Japan last fall, fans of the series were curious about what the creator would make next. At the time, he said he was going “to take a different path.” It seems that path has led him to the neighboring nation of China to work for NetEase.

VGC spotted a trademark filed at the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Called “Nagoshi Studio,” the filing’s link to the former Yakuza director seems pretty clear. His name isn’t directly attached to the EUIPO listing, but the “computer game software” service named in the filing quite strongly implies his involvement. Also named in the listing is Ingenias, which as VGC points out, is the filing representative for previous NetEase trademarks. This all falls in line with Bloomberg’s August 2021 report that claimed Nagoshi would be joining NetEase.

NetEase has certainly been expanding its reach in recent months. It acquired No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture in October, a move which Grasshopper studio head Suda51 said would “ensure that we are able to continue to maintain the consistent ‘Grasshopper Manufacture flavor’ and game quality for which we are known.” NetEase also launched The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War on mobile devices around the same time as that acquisition.