Like a Dragon (previously Yakuza) developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG) is revealing its next game at Tokyo Game Show, which takes place September 26 to September 29, 2024.
As reported by VGC, RGG announced during a YouTube stream that its mysterious next game will be unveiled fully in just a couple of months.
The studio has already confirmed the next game won't be Yakuza Kiwami 3, however, meaning it won't be a remake of the third game following on from Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 which arrived in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Series director Masayoshi Yokoyama said he'll make that game one day, but it won't be the next title.
While RGG also develops the Super Monkey Ball series alongside a handful of other more random games, it's inarguably most known for the Like a Dragon series (as Ryu Ga Gotoku literally means Like a Dragon) so the studio drumming up interest already likely points to a more mainline reveal.
That being said, it has suggested fans will be "surprised" by its next game, essentially meaning anything is possible. Like a Dragon has many offshoots itself, so a ninth (technically 10th thanks to prequel Yakuza 0) mainline game isn't the only option.
RGG has previously referred to spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name as the "first" Gaiden game, for example, and it could even remake PlayStation Portable and Japanese-only games Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō for modern platforms like it did with Like a Dragon: Ishin.
It has full spin-off Judgement waiting in the wings too, its still action heavy but more murder mystery, detective focused series which hasn't seen a new release since Lost Judgement arrived in 2021.
It could also be something completely new altogether, though even this would seemingly follow a similar template or at least be set in Japan. As reported by Automaton, a public casting competition for RGG's next game is seeking a "Minato-style girl." Minato is an area of Tokyo but "Minato girl" specifically is slang used to describe a well off young woman.
Fans will just have to wait and see what the next RGG game is, but thankfully the reveal isn't too far away. The franchise's 20th anniversary takes place in 2025, and as RGG released the beloved Yakuza 0 as a special 10th anniversary project, it may be looking to do something just as grandiose next year.
Though this seems a particularly quick turnaround for a studio that just released its last mainline (and massive) game earlier in 2024, RGG is known for launching myriad games in a short period of time.
In the last five years, for example, it's released Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgement Remastered, Lost Judgement, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, alongside three Super Monkey Ball Games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5: 12 games in total.
In our 9/10 review of the latest, IGN said: "Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
