Yakuza 8: Release Date, Like a Dragon Sequel, and Everything We Know

It has been two years since the initial release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon in Japan, and fans of the franchise are eager for another outing as the new series protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga.  The initial announcement had fans wondering if the game would succeed, after all, this was a shift into turn-based JRPG territory, but it turned out to be an exceptional title and one of the greatest in the franchise.  The expectations are high, and in light of developer Ryo Ga Gotoku’s latest successful Judgment sequel, fans want to see if this new game, tentatively known as Yakuza 8, will push the series to greater heights.  Read on for our coverage on What We Know About the Yakuza: Like a Dragon Sequel!

Yakuza 8: Release Date, Like a Dragon Sequel, and Everything We Know

The Yakuza developers Ryo Ga Gotoku (RGG) have taken enthusiastically to announce their plans for the Like a Dragon sequel and hopefully more games in the Judgment series.  Masayoshi Yokoyama clarified that it will be an Ichiban Kasuga story, and that, with the help of an enormous development team, Yakuza and Judgment are very important to them.  Yokoyama states that he has hopes that his team will continue to bring titles that spark excitement in the fan base.  So until there’s further information given about any other specifics, we know that Yakuza 8 will take place several years after ‘Like a Dragon‘ and retain the same style of gameplay.

This is certainly reassuring, in light of the news that Toshihiro Nagoshi departed RGG and Sega overall, where he presided as General Director and former Chief Creative Officer respectively.  In many ways, his name was synonymous with their studio, which also bears the name of their games in the original Japanese versions, it even translates to “Like a Dragon”; ‘Yakuza: Like a Dragon’ is called ‘Like a Dragon 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness‘ in Japan.  A loss like that for such a prominent representative studio for Sega is disheartening to the fans, so RGG was quick to assert their plans to live up to their former leader’s legacy.

There is little else known about the release window for Yakuza 8 aside from the plans for its development, but considering the steady stream of releases we’ve seen from RGG since 2015, it’s reasonable to believe we could hear more soon.  For more information on Yokoyama’s statement, RGG has posted it on their website.  We’ll be sure to follow this story closely as more developments come to light.