Sega announces Yakuza 8 and a slew of other Yakuza games

KIRYU-CHAN!! Ahead of the Tokyo Game Show starting on September 15th, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio — developers of the gritty gangster series Yakuza, the noir detective series Judgment, and in sharp and hilarious contrast, the Super Monkey Ball series — shared its upcoming release schedule, and it’s a doozy. Yakuza 8 makes its debut along with several other Ryu Ga Gotoku games that’ll have you up to your eyeballs in hostess clubs, batting cages, crane games, and just a smidge of gangster action as a treat.

First, RGG fans will be blessed with the samurai-flavored Yakuza spinoff, Like a Dragon: Ishin! Revealed yesterday during Sony’s State of Play event, Ishin trades fists for swords and ditches the neon-lit streets of Kamurocho in favor of Kochi City in the 1860s. Though originally released in 2014 only in Japan, Ishin is getting its first worldwide release and has been totally remastered for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. RGG Studio has also announced both Judgment and Lost Judgment will be released on PC via Steam.

But wait, there’s more! Like A Dragon fans are getting a new game chronicling what Kazuma Kiryu has been up to since we last saw him in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. And finally, on top of all of that, RGG Studio announced Yakuza 8 (also known as Like a Dragon 8 because what we call Yakuza in the West is known as Like A Dragon in Japan), featuring Ichiban Kasuga, hero of Yakuza: Like A Dragon and the return of the king himself, Kazuma Kiryu.

The Judgment Collection is available now on Steam. Ishin launches on February 21st, 2023. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will come later in 2023, and Like a Dragon 8 is set for 2024. Whew! That is a lot. If you’re a Yakuza fan, you are gonna be eating well the next couple of years.