With Yakuza: Like a Dragon finally hitting western storefronts earlier this month, it's clear the franchise is truly back and better than ever, with a new protagonist and style of gameplay at its helm. Reviews for Yakuza have been very positive so far, claiming it's a worthy successor to the long-line of acclaimed titles that came before it, while wacky clips from the release have been surfacing all over social media.

Now that Yakuza: Like a Dragon is out all over the world, the question turns to where the series will go next. Luckily, it seems the answer is well on its way, with an official stream set to debut on December 8 allegedly sharing brand new details on what's next for the iconic Japanese franchise.

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The announcement was made through the Ryu ga Gotoku Studio Twitter account, claiming that the stream will be held to celebrate the franchise's fifteenth anniversary. It promises several fun Yakuza-focused activities, including bringing the voice actors for Kiryu Kazama and Ichiban Kasuga on board as guests and looking back at the franchise's fifteen-year run. The final line is the most intriguing prospect of the stream, however, revealing that there will also be announcements regarding "future developments for the series." Whether this is the announcement of some DLC or perhaps the next entry in the Yakuza story remains to be seen, so players should keep an eye on the December 8 anniversary showcase.

It seems likely that a sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon is in the works, especially seen as the last game in the series acted as something of a fresh start for the franchise, replacing its iconic protagonist Kiryu with brand new series staple Ichiban Kasuga. More crucially, the entire DNA of the series has been replaced, changing from a beat 'em up action game to a turn-based RPG. Evidently, the team behind Yakuza want to take the series in a new direction, and it seems likely that'll continue into sequels further down the line.

As for now though, Yakuza: Like a Dragon has arguably been one of the Xbox Series X's more popular launch games, offering a huge experience crammed full of mini-games, battles, and quirky side-missions. It'll eventually come to the PlayStation 5 next year, with its stint as a Series X next-generation exclusive ending relatively soon. Outside of the video game world, Yakuza will also be hitting cinema screens around the world in the future, with a recent announcement revealing that a movie based on the game is currently in the works.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The PS5 version launches on March 2, 2021.

MORE: Yakuza: Like a Dragon Features Pokemon-Inspired Side-Mission

Source: Ryu ga Gotoku Studio (via DualShockers)