Like a Dragon studio head says Yakuza Kiwami 3 will come at some point

The head of Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio says he wants to make Yakuza Kiwami 3 at some point.

In the latest episode of the studio’s Japanese YouTube show Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio TV, studio head and series director Masayoshi Yokoyama announced that cast auditions for the next Like a Dragon game will be held soon.

However, as reported by Game’sTalk, Yokoyama stressed that this new game was not Yakuza Kiwami 3, and was a completely new title.

“It’s not Yakuza Kiwami 3, but it’s been written about so much that it’s probably best to properly deny it,” he said.

“I will say, though, that I think I will do Kiwami 3 at some point. I’m sure I’ll do it someday.”

Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 were remakes of the first two Yakuza games, and were released in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Fans have been hoping the Kiwami series would continue with a remake of Yakuza 3, which was originally released on PS3 in 2009.

Yakuza 3 Remastered was released on PS4 in 2018, and on PC and Xbox One in 2021. It upgraded the game to 1080p and 60fps, with scenes previously cut from the western release restored in full.

“In a quest to abandon their bloody past, Kazuma Kiryu and adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura leave the unforgiving streets of Kamurocho for the island of Okinawa to run the Morning Glory Orphanage,” Yakuza 3’s plot summary reads.

“Despite his efforts, trouble shadows Kiryu and the orphanage is soon entangled in a deadly power struggle. Can Kiryu rescue the children’s home and escape his past for good?”

The latest game in the series, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, shipped one million copies within its first week,  a rate Yokoyama wasn’t expecting.

The game was released to critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 89. It was also the second Yakuza/Like a Dragon game (and only the 30th game of all time) to receive a perfect score in respected Japanese magazine Famitsu.