Sega announces third Yakuza game: ‘Like a Dragon Gaiden’ will release in 2023

Sega has announced its third Yakuza title of the week, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

The spin-off will take place between Yakuza 6 and 7  and tell the story of what happened to Kiryu Kazama, Sega said on Wednesday. It will release on all platforms in 2023.

Revealed during the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Summit live stream by executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama, the trailer gave a brief look at Kiryu meditating, having taken an assumed name.

“This is going to be an action-adventure game,” said Masayoshi Yokoyama. “It will be about half the size of a regular Yakuza game.”

Yokoyama also said that the game will feature the traditional Yakuza elements such as “hanging around in town,” but made clear that this is a side story, meant to get players prepared for Like A Dragon 8, the next mainline game in the series which was also announced on Wednesday

Starring both Kiryu and Ichiban, the game is set for release in 2024. Unlike Like a Dragon Gaiden, Like a Dragon 8 will once again be an RPG, and will feature dual protagonists according to Yokoyama.

“The scale of the game is really big, it’s going to be the largest game to date,” Masayoshi Yokoyama said during the Q&A following the reveal.

This is the third Yakuza game that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed this week, the first of which being Like a Dragon Ishin. Originally released for PS3 and PS4 in 2014 and is set during the mid-1800s, with players taking on the role of real-life samurai Sakamoto Ryoma.