Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is perhaps better than it’s ever been. Ever since the release of Yakuza 0 in the west way back in 2015 the studio has released highly rated games in their ever expansive Yakuza franchise year after year, with the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth being their latest smash hit release earlier in the year. Now, it seems that RGG Studio is already planning on their next release, as hinted at the Essence of Fandom panel event at Anime Expo over the weekend.
The full interview with producer for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Hiroyuki Sakamoto and Kazuhiro Nakaya, voice of Like a Dragon main character Kasuga Ichiban, can be seen here:
While the quote from the tweet above seems to leave things a bit open ended as to what the future project is, there seems to be a sentiment among fans that the team was referring to a new Yakuza/Like a Dragon project.
Regardless, the growth of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio can’t really be understated. With new games coming out every year pushing the envelope for what a contemporary set action game (or more recently, a contemporary set JRPG) can provide and with an ever growing base of faithful fans the studio has quickly become one of the biggest in Japan. So big, in fact, that we’re going to be seeing a live action Yakuza Amazon Prime series later this year.
It’s always nice to see these studios succeed, especially ones like RGG Studio, which are not afraid to innovate once they’ve realized their formula has reached its apex. The series change from an action beat ‘em up successor to a more traditional JRPG was a bold one, but it looks like it was a good one, as fan loyalty of the Yakuza series has not wavered in the slightest, and I’m sure those same fans will be more than excited to see whatever the producer hinted come next year.