The Tokyo-based gaming giant opened the week with Like a Dragon: Ishin! before following it up with reveals of Yakuza 8 and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. In addition to this, SEGA also confirmed that Ryu Ga Gotoku’s pair of spin-offs, Judgement and Lost Judgment, are both available on the PC as of today, September 14. Although SEGA, RGG, and the Yakuza franchise aren’t new to wildly experimental stuff - you could argue that the entire franchise is all about taking risks - Like a Dragon: Ishin! looks and feels a lot different. Unlike other spin-offs that take place in contemporary settings, Like a Dragon: Ishin! begins in 1867 (yes, you read that right). The game will take place right as the Shogunate fell and the Meiji restoration began. Technically, Like a Dragon: Ishin! isn’t a new game; it’s more of a remake. RGG launched the game in 2014 as an exclusive to Japan. This time around, Ishin! will roll out to the rest of the world on February 21, 2023. RGG has fully remastered Ishin! for last-gen and current-gen consoles as well as the PC. On top of the samurai-flavored spin-off, SEGA also dropped details about the next Yakuza game, Like a Dragon 8, which, for some reason, will still come out on the Xbox One in 2024. This is likely to change as we get closer to its release. If we’re being honest, we’re not curious about Yakuza 8. At least, not as much as Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. This Kiryu-related project will explore the massive gap between the series’ sixth and seventh mainline installment. SEGA is also designing the spin-off to cater to fans who preferred the action-based combat of the older games as opposed to the turn-based style. TLDR; it’s a great time to be a Yakuza fan. Speaking of Yakuza, SEGA and Sony partnered to bring several Yakuza games to the PS Plus over the next few months. Also, after seeing the success of the pair of Sonic the Hedgehog films, SEGA is doubling down on its Hollywood ventures with live-action adaptations of two classic SEGA games.
