Fans of the Yakuza series received a ton of news today following the official reveal of the sequel to 2018's Yakuza spin-off title Judgment. Lost Judgment received a trailer alongside a worldwide release date of September 24, 2021.
This is big news for the Yakuza series, as Lost Judgment marks the first time in the series' 16 year history that a simultaneous release was made possible. Now, Toshihiro Nagoshi, the studio head at Ryu Ga Gotaku, confirmed that the team plans to release all future Yakuza games the same way going forward.
The confirmation came during the Lost Judgment reveal video released by Sega of America's official YouTube channel. Following the reveal of Lost Judgment, Nagoshi and Lost Judgment producer Kazuki Hosokawa took time to answer questions during a Worldwide Media Conference segment. The first question, posed by Vincenzo Lettera of the Italian publication Multiplayer.it, asked what effects the decision for a global release had on RGG Studio's creative process and if fans could expect more going forward. Thankfully, Nagoshi answered the question, saying, "We're determined to make every effort to support this for all our games moving forward."
The way Nagoshi phrased his answer certainly makes it sound as if all games from the RGG Studio, whether they be from the Yakuza series or not, will get simultaneous worldwide release dates in the future. Nagoshi said that succeeding in offering up a global release for a game "in an age where information is shared simultaneously" is especially important. While the wait for Yakuza: Like a Dragon's release was less than a year long, it was definitely a bummer for fans of the series. Luckily, it seems as though RGG Studio and Sega have eliminated the hang ups that prevented the studio from releasing Yakuza games simultaneously worldwide in the past.
Still, it's important to remember that simultaneous worldwide releases are no easy feat. Nagoshi touches on this as well, saying the team knew going in that it would be a difficult goal to reach. Nagoshi gives an example of some of the challenges when it comes to marketing, saying that the team "can't use a one-size-fits-all approach" while trying to market their games. Additionally, Nagoshi makes a point to emphasize just how much time video game localization takes overall, especially during development.
The remaining World Media Conference portion of the video has some interesting questions as well, so fans of the Yakuza series should definitely give it a watch. For example, Nagoshi touched on Lost Judgment not being a turn-based RPG like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, further explaining the team's decision. This presentation really highlights just how much of a success the series has become over the past few years. Hopefully, Lost Judgment furthers that success along with the future titles in the Yakuza series.