Today, Sega hosted the RGG Summit 2024, revealing what is next for the popular Like a Dragon / Yakuza franchise (known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japanese).
The event has been a pre-Tokyo Game Show tradition for a few years, and the first announcement is Yakuza Kiwami 3, releasing on February 12, 2026 for PC via Steam, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
It’s certainly interesting to see that Sega decided to keep the old “Yakuza” title instead of calling it “Like a Dragon Kiwami 3”
Like the previous Kiwami games, this is a remake of Yakuza 3, which debuted on PS3 all the way back in 2009 in Japan, while Western players had to wait a year and got the game in 2010.
The game is set mostly in Okinawa, and it’s remade from scratch using the Dragon engine. It includes changes to gameplay and even the story.
Kazuma Kiryu will be able to use his Dragon of Dojima Kiwami style and the weapon-heavy Ryukyu-style, inspired by Okinawan martial arts.
Funnily, the “Life at Morning Glory” life simulation minigame will be introduced alongside side stories focusing on each of the children. Another new mode will let you lead and customize a biker gang.
The ultimate Japanese ojisan simulator is truly back.
The second announcement for the day is Dark Ties (known as Yakuza 3 Gaiden Dark Ties in Japan), and they’re actually going to be sold as a bundle. The protagonist is Yoshitaka Mine, telling his origin story.
The setting is, of course, Kamurocho (the fictionalized version of Kabukicho) in Tokyo, and Mine has his own battle style based on Boxing, with the addition of Dark Awakening that changes his moves as he unleases his dark side.
The third announcement is a collaboration with Nihontoitsu, which will create a live-action drama focusing on the story leading into Yakuza Kiwami 3. Specifically, it’ll be based on the story of the original Yakuza.
Kazuma Kiryu will be played by Yasukaze Motomiya, Goro Majima will be played by Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Akira Nishikiyama will be played by Kazuhiro Nakatani, and Makoto Date will be played by Kenji Matsuda.
Further smaller announcements are Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 releasing for Nintendo Switch 2 on November 13, while PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam will get them with new language support on December 8.
On the same day, all three platforms will also get Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut.
We also get a making-of video about Stranger than Heaven, which is currently in development.
You can check out the announcements and more gameplay of Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties, in the recording of the RGG Direct.
