A new Yakuza spin-off called Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name has been revealed for release in 2023. The Yakuza series has only been growing in popularity in the west since Yakuza 0 introduced a whole new audience to the series in 2017, and 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon managed to raise the series to even further mainstream success, acting as a soft reboot and a great starting point for newcomers. Now, RGG Studios has announced a game for long-time fans of the series, one that will lead directly into the events of Like a Dragon 8, Like a Dragon Gaiden.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon marked the first mainline entry in the series to star a new protagonist, with the studio claiming to have retired past protagonist Kazuma Kiryu with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. While this was a great call for giving the series a soft reboot and introducing a new location, new gameplay mechanics, and new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga, it didn't stop Kiryu from making an appearance in Like A Dragon's main story. Now, with today's announcement of Like a Dragon 8, which is set for release in 2024, it's been revealed that Kiryu will be returning to co-headline the next mainline entry with Ichiban.
While many fans are excited by this reveal, there is an understandable crowd that is confused by Sega's decision to bring the character back as a main protagonist following the finale of Yakuza 6. Thankfully, Sega has come more than prepared, announcing Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a new spin-off game set between the events of Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon, that will also lead directly into Like a Dragon 8. Better yet, the game is planned as a cross-generational release in 2023, along with the already revealed Like a Dragon: Ishin remake.
Sega has described Like a Dragon Gaiden as a game made for fans who have been with the series since the beginning, and it has confirmed that the game will utilize the action-brawling combat of past entries predating Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Sega has also confirmed that this will be a shorter entry in the series, claiming that it will be around half the size of a regular Yakuza game, similar to Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed: Mirage. It has claimed however that the game will be more substantial than this year's Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files DLC, which took roughly 7-10 hours to beat, meaning this will still be a sizable Yakuza entry.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.
