How to Play Like a Dragon Ishin Early: Deluxe Edition Early Access Explained

For the first time ever, fans of the Yakuza series outside of Japan will be able to experience Like a Dragon: Ishin! with an official translation. This title was requested by fans as the series grew more popular overseas, and now it’s only a matter of time before they can finally check it out for themselves. As it turns out, those that pre-ordered the game might not need to wait much longer. Through owning the Digital Deluxe edition, it’s possible to gain early access to the title and play Like a Dragon: Ishin! before anyone else.

How and When Fans can Gain Early Access to Play Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Early access for Ishin! is only available through the game’s Digital Deluxe edition. Unfortunately, this means you won’t be able to play early if you get the title through its standard price of around $60 USD. As the name implies, this special deal also applies only to the digital release of the game. Those who purchase a physical copy of Like a Dragon: Ishin! will only be able to play early if their seller makes the game available early.

Players that pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe version of Ishin! will be able to play at the same time worldwide according to RGG Studio. The game is planned to release at around 15:00 GMT. For players living on Eastern Standard Time, they should expect to play starting at 10:00 AM. This applies to the game’s standard date of February 21st and its early access date of February 17th.

Be aware that you won’t be able to easily upgrade the game if you bought the standard edition, so you might be out of luck if you were hasty with your pre-order. It’s also recommended that you do your best to avoid spoilers during the weekend. When the game is released in full, players will gain access to all content outside of a few weapons and skins. Based on the names of “kits” included within, it’s likely that most Deluxe Edition content will be made available as a separate purchase at launch similarly to the guest Trooper Cards. If you don’t care about early access, don’t feel pressured to make the leap for the sake of exclusives!