Yakuza 8 Announced, Official Title Revealed

By Rollin Bishop

Developer RGG Studio and Sega have officially announced Yakuza 8, though likely not in the way that fans of the series might have been expecting. More specifically, RGG Studio and Sega announced Like a Dragon 8, a sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon that seemingly drops the Yakuza branding altogether. Yakuza: Like a Dragon protagonist Ichiban Kasuga returns in the sequel, but so will longtime Yakuza protagonist Kiryu Kazuma. Like a Dragon 8 will release for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in 2024.

According to the announcement today ahead of the Tokyo Game Show 2022, Like a Dragon 8 will feature Ichiban and Kiryu as dual protagonists. It will also use the turn-based combat system introduced in Yakuza: Like a Dragon as opposed to the action-RPG combat of previous Yakuza video games. The first trailer for Like a Dragon 8 features both protagonists with their updated looks for the new title, and Kiryu specifically has changed things up a bit with his hair since the last time he was seen. You can check it out embedded below:

A sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon has been expected, so the announcement itself isn't a huge surprise after the first glimpse at Like a Dragon 8 earlier this year. "Ryu Ga Gotoku's predecessors have passed down their beliefs and know-how to each and every staff member. You can witness it in the recently released Lost Judgment and will see it in the upcoming sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon which will continue Ichiban Kasuga's story," RGG Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama previously stated when a sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon was first confirmed last year in a larger post about restructuring at the developer. "This game is currently being developed by producer Sakamoto and directors Horii, Ito and Mitake. I myself along with Takeuchi and Furuta are working on the story."  

As noted above, Like a Dragon 8 is set to release for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC in 2024. No definitive release date has been announced as of yet, which makes sense given how far away it is. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the Yakuza series in general, which now seems to be the Like a Dragon series, right here.

What do you think about what has been shown of Like a Dragon 8 so far? Are you looking forward to its release in 2024? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming!

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