Like a Dragon 8has finally been officially announced by Sega with a release window. TheYakuzaseries' last outing was with 2020’sYakuza: Like a Dragon, the game that acted as a soft reboot for the franchise, introduced new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, alongside a new setting, and a new JRPG influenced combat system. Now, after two years since its release, Sega has revealed the next mainline entry in the series alongside two new spin-offs, and a renaming of the series withLike a Dragon 8.
TheYakuzaseries first debuted on PlayStation 2 in 2005 and despite receiving major success in Japan, the franchise failed to find its audience in the west despite localizations for all mainline entries and the post-apocalyptic spin-off,Yakuza: Dead Souls. Two Japanese history inspired titles known asYakuza: KenzanandYakuza: Ishindid not receive localizationsdue to fears that western audiences would fail to engage with them. In 2017, the release ofYakuza 0, a prequel set 20 years before the first game, released to surprise success for the west, and this carried through to 2020’sYakuza: Like a Dragon, which quickly became the franchise’s biggest success yet.
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GivenLike a Dragon’s popularity, it’s not much of a surprise that developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios announced three new entries in the series today,one of which is a fully localized remake ofYakuza Ishin, one of the perviously Japan-only games. The biggest of these three announcements was the reveal ofYakuza8, now known asLike a Dragon 8, alongside news that the game will star the last game’s protagonist Ichiban Kasuga and returning series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Kiryu is even sporting a somewhat uncanny new hairstyle, likely indicating he has taken on a new identity following the events ofYakuza 6: The Song of Life.
It was confirmed during today’s RGG Digest stream thatboth Kasuga and Kiryu will be the protagonists of the game, similar to Kiryu and Goro Majima inYakuza 0. The game will also see the return of the turn-based RPG combat fromYakuza: Like a Dragon, with the developers even implying that Kiryu will form his own party similar to Ichiban’s in the last game. Furthermore, it was revealed that the game will release as a cross-gen release in 2024.
Fans wanting to learn how Kiryu has returned won’t be left in the dark for long however, as the final announcement from today’s stream wasLike a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. This canonical spin-off will take place between the events ofYakuza 6andYakuza: Like a Dragon, and lead into the events ofLike a Dragon 8. This will be a shorter entry in the seriessimilar to Ubisoft’s upcomingAssassin’s Creed: Mirage, and will release in 2023.
Like a Dragon 8will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
