The long-awaited follow up to Sega’s iconic Yakuza series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon looks to be a major departure from the franchise’s iconic gameplay, namely trading out the previous titles’ arcadey beat ’em up combat for turn-based encounters. Alongside that, it subs out long-time protagonist Kazuma Kiryu for a new hero by the name of Ichiban Kasuga, as he sets out to uncover a fresh mystery set within the Yakuza world.
While fans knew the game would be coming to consoles this holiday, it wasn’t expressly revealed when exactly they would get to play the next mainline release in the Yakuza franchise. However, thanks to the Microsoft store, it seems an official release date has been given, with the store’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon listing claiming it’ll debut on November 13.
With the game being so tightly linked to Microsoft’s brand - with Sega even announcing that Like a Dragon will receive a Series X upgrade on the console’s launch day - it makes sense that the news will likely be made official during the Xbox showcase taking place later today. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see just how close the game debuts to the official launch of the upcoming console, especially with the company confirming that it’ll be available on both modern and next-generation hardware. Regardless, it’s fantastic to see a date given for the western release of the long-awaited sequel.
In related Yakuza: Like a Dragon news, Sega revealed a number of major bombshells yesterday when discussing what to expect from the next game in the Yakuza series. The sequel will allegedly feature an English dub for its western debut, starring the likes of Star Trek and Mulan star George Takei as well as Detective Pikachu and Persona 5 actor Kaiji Tang. The studio also revealed that the game will be getting a PlayStation 5 release, however, it’ll supposedly come a while after the game’s Xbox Series X debut.
All in all, it looks as though Like a Dragon is poised to be another hit for Sega when it lands on Western consoles later this year. Not only have recent iterations like Yakuza 0 and the eventual Kiwami remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2 done a lot to grow the franchise’s popularity worldwide, but the game itself looks to be a ton of fun, taking the series eccentric nature and going bigger than ever before. With the title launching in just a few months, it’s definitely got all the makings of a huge hit.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon releases in the West for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X on November 13, with a PlayStation 5 version coming at a later date.
Source: Microsoft
