Yakuza devs announce a summer showcase, will probably feature Like a Dragon 8

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the team behind the series formerly known as Yakuza, has announced it will be hosting a showcase next month.

If you've been looking to get your Yakuza fix, or I guess I should say Like a Dragon fix, good news: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has just announced its RGG Summit for Summer 2023. The developer announced the live stream on its official Twitter account, where it shared you'll be able to check out the stream June 16. There is a slight catch for UK viewers, though, as it'll be streaming at 4am our time, or midday in Japan time (for those over in the states, it'll technically take place on June 15, 11pm ET/ 8pm PT).

The announcement didn't make any mention of what exactly we can expect to see during the live stream, but it's almost certainly a safe bet there will be something Like a Dragon shown off. At the previous showcase last year, the studio formally revealed Yakuza 8 as Like a Dragon 8, as well as Like a Dragon Gaiden, which features series mainstay Kazuma Kiryu once again. We can probably assume that we'll see more of these two, but obviously it's possible there'll be some surprises thrown in there too.

Like a Dragon 8 follows on from the events of Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon (yes the decision to rename the series makes it slightly confusing), and will again feature Ichiban Kasuga as its protagonist, but Kiryu will also be more prominent once again as the secondary protagonist. The eighth instalment will continue to be a turn based RPG like its predecessor, whereas Gaiden will return to the action brawling gameplay the series is best known for. Gaiden will also fill in the gaps between the events of Yakuza 6 and 7, and what happened to Kiyru.

Gaiden is currently expected to release this year, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and Like a Dragon 8 should arrive some time in 2024 on the same platforms.