After years of struggles with localization projects and low sales, 2020 was finally the breakout year for Sega’sYakuzaseries with the release ofYakuza: Like a Dragonand the success of titles such asYakuza 0andYakuza Kiwamion Xbox Game Pass. This success has reshaped the future of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which has recently seen a major shake-up with general director and series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi leaving Sega last month along with series director Daisuke Sato. Speaking in a new interview current studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that RGG Studios is now working on two major projects, the much anticipatedYakuza 8, and a brand new IP.
Earlier this year, doubts were cast over the future of RGG Studios’Yakuzaspin-off seriesJudgment, as various Japanese news outlets began to report that protagonist Takeyuki Yagami’s actorTakuya Kimura’s talent agency had been interfering with Sega’s plansfor the series, namely releasing a PC version. The reports implied that the infamously restrictive agency did not want to enable PC users to modify Kimura’s appearance in the game, which is used for Yagami’s likeness. While updates regarding this situation have been slim since the initial reports, all signs seem to indicate that Sega is done with theJudgmentfranchise, andLost Judgmentis likely to be the final entry in the series due to this fallout.
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Further adding to this speculation is a new interview withRGG Studios leader Masayoshi Yokoyamaconducted by Famitsu. In this interview, Yokoyama commented on future titles that RGG Studios is currently developing, such as the previously confirmedYakuza 8, which has been confirmed to feature the return ofYakuza: Like a Dragonprotagonist Ichiban Kasuga, who RGG Studios sees as the face of the franchise for “the next decade.”
Furthermore,Yakuza 8will take placemultiple years after the events ofLike a Dragon, meaning some time will have passed since Ichiban’s last outing. Finally, Yokoyama claimed that the studio will “continue to cherish theJudgmentseries,” seemingly concluding that the studio is not planning any new installments right now.
While this is undoubtedly sad forJudgmentfans, the change in leadership at RGG Studios could be the deciding factor to allow the studio to breathe new creativity into a new IP, one that doesn’t even have to tie directly into the world of Yakuza, much likeother games from the studio like the often forgottenBinary Domain. As for when these titles could release, RGG Studios has kept a fairly consistent yearly release schedule for its titles, meaning we could seeYakuza 8as early as next year, likely with the same worldwide release schedule asLost Judgment.
