What you need to know
- SEGA has rebranded its Yakuza franchise to "Like a Dragon," as reported in a recent interview with Digital Trends.
- This new name closely aligns with its original Japanese name, "Ryu Ga Gotoku" which translates to "Like a Dragon," and will be used across future games.
- The rebrand begins with recently announced titles in the series — Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon 8.
When Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios announced three upcoming Xbox titles in the Yakuza series — Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon 8, fans noticed some changes. SEGA has dropped the Yakuza branding across the board, and as per a new Digital Trends report, the change is here to stay.
The rebrand sees the Yakuza moniker dropped in favor of "Like a Dragon," set to be used across future titles, according to a SEGA of America representative. The name change falls in line with its original Japanese name "Ryu Ga Gotoku," which translates to "Like a Dragon" in English.
Starting with the original PlayStation 2 title which started the franchise, "Ryu Ga Gotoku," ports to the west have used the "Yakuza" branding. With western popularity on the rise, and new entries like Yakuza: Like a Dragon exploring stories beyond the yakuza, a name change was inevitable.
Scott Strichart, a localization producer at SEGA who worked on Yakuza: Like a Dragon, has since drawn attention to an in-game chapter, "Chapter 12: The End of Yakuza," which alluded to the wider rebrand.
Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will be released in 2023 while Like a Dragon 8 is scheduled to be released sometime in 2024. The three games will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One, plus various PC platforms.
In addition, the Like a Dragon spin-off titles, Lost Judgement and Judgement have just been released on PC via Steam in a double pack dubbed The Judgement Collection.
