Fans of the Yakuza franchise have a lot to look forward to, with Like a Dragon: Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name coming out very recently and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s release being very near, RGG Studio fanatics have a lot of content to chew on, doubly so with a recent interview with Ryu Ga Gatoku Studio Director Masayoshi Yokoyama by automaton-media which revealed some new details about the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, as well as the state of the franchise as a whole such as how well Like a Dragon: Gaiden has done in terms of sales a reception.
Mr. Yokoyama notes that the series’ popularity has continued its surprising upward trend in the West while also being increasingly popular on its native shores in Japan, noting that Like a Dragon: Gaiden might be their best-selling title domestically.
Also interesting is that Yokoyama notes that Like a Dragon: Gaiden was created primarily to introduce newer players to the character of Kiryu who, while present in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, was more of a cameo than a full character. It seems like a company acknowledgment that Yakuza: Like a Dragon is now considered the primary entry point to the series over the previously incredibly popular Yakuza 0, a sure sign that the series is progressing ever forward.
Also of note is that the director confirms that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be longer than Yakuza: Like a Dragon. This is probably exciting news for Yakuza fans, as Yakuza: Like a Dragon was incredibly dense, especially taking into consideration all of the side content. For those wanting to take another in-depth tourism simulation through Japan, and in Infinite Wealth’s new setting of Hawaii, they can definitely look forward to a main campaign longer than the previous games, and that’s not even counting the various side content that populates this game.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will officially launch on January 26, 2024, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/Series S, and PC.