Nagoshi Studio has shut down, Anime News Network reports — closing the book on Toshihiro Nagoshi's first independent venture since leaving Sega, where he created the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise.

The studio announced its debut title, Gang of Dragon, during The Game Awards last December. That game now dies with the company, which never released a product in its lifetime.

For fans who followed Nagoshi's work from Super Monkey Ball through two decades of Kamurocho crime drama, the closure is a sobering data point about how hard it is for even legendary creators to launch fresh studios in the current market. Publisher backing, name recognition, and a splashy Game Awards reveal weren't enough to carry the project to release. Where Nagoshi lands next — and whether Gang of Dragon's concepts survive in another form — is now an open question for the industry.