The wait is over, and there is finally fresh information about Yakuza 8. However, RGG seems to be doing some housekeeping, as the Yakuza portion of the name seems to have been dropped in favor of the new title — Like a Dragon 8.
The game has been announced by executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama with a teaser trailer at the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Summit via live stream. In the trailer, we managed to get a glimpse of both Kiryu and Ichiban, both of which will be making a return to star in the new game.
Clearly, the game will focus on two protagonists this time around, which by itself poses many questions. Luckily, Yokoyama has expressed that “the scale of the game is really big, it’s going to be the largest game to date.” He would go on to say that both characters will take a turn in the spotlight, saying, “the game is about Kiryu who has all of his past on his back and Ichiban who has all of the future ahead of him. We felt we had to bring back Kiryu for that theme.”
This is interesting to say the least, as we are curious to see in what way they plan to bring Kiryu back, as well as how much of what happened in between games will be explored. The plan is for the game to be released in 2024, with several platforms in mind, including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam.
While there will be a long wait until 2024, some of the older Yakuza games were made available as part of the PS Plus Game Catalog in August for Extra and Premium members, namely Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Meanwhile, PS Plus Premium members can look forward to Yakuza 3 Remastered, Yakuza 4 Remastered, and Yakuza 5 Remastered coming later this year, as well as Yakuza 6: The Song of Life for both Extra and Premium members. Plus, fans have spin-off games Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name coming out in 2023.
