Even though a lot may not know this about me, i am quite the gamer. I really love playing games, single player games to be exact, especially the ones with great aesthetics and with a great plot. Some favorite titles i like a lot are Assassin's Creed (not the last one), Devil May Cry and Far Cry. Above all, though, there is a franchise that is far better than any other game, at least as a whole. This game series is called Yakuza or Like a Dragon and and they have another title in the same universe, let's say called Judgment. The studio behind these games is called RGG or Ryu Ga Gotoku studio.
The Yakuza games as the name suggests, focus on the Yakuza and the story of a certain Yakuza guy called Kiryu Kazuma. It's a single-player game and every game has a specific plot, which is amazing, with great cutscenes and voice acting. It's basically like you are watching a movie and sometimes it's even better than a movie.
Most of the main stories are quite serious with huge plot twists but at the same time the studio has created side stories or side quests as most of you know it but with a twist. The vast majority of these side quests are funny and entertaining. There are some with sob stories or with a life lesson as well. It's not the typical go and farm 10 beasts and get back with 10 horns or something.
They have also included tons of mini games, from bowling to SEGA games, to even Karaoke with actual songs and video clips they made by themselves. I can speak all day long about these games but let's focus on the news.
So on 23/09/25 they held their Summit where they made their announcements about the new games and such. If you have time to kill, you can check the link below it's like 2+ hours long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VZM3ysP4vg
If you don't, i will tell you all you need to know. First and foremost, they announced their new game which everyone expected to tell you the truth but again with a twist. The game is called Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Tides. The "kiwami" series is a remake of older Yakuza games that were created 20 years ago for PlayStation and focused on the Japanese audience.
The remake has better graphics, some added scenes, enhanced fighting style but still that same vibe. I wouldn't suggest that anyone start with this game, as they need to know the story for a better experience. You can start with Yakuza 0. Now the twist that i told you about earlier is the following:
Instead of simply making the remake and selling it, they also created a side story as a separate game but shorter that you can play by buying this title. This is a completely new story focusing on the villain of the main game. You basically follow his story and play as him. Each Yakuza game has let's say a main villain and this one received a lot of positive reviews from people, they deemed him, in a way, as an "antihero".
So in February 2026, by buying the Kiwami 3 gam,e you can also play this character's backstory. You can choose to play the backstory first or the Kiwami 3, it's literally up to you. Check the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKeeJzadLUE
Last but not least, 2 other announcements were made. The first one is a short live-action film? to celebrate their 20 years anniversary and they also told us that they are working on their new title, which is more likely gonna be out in 2027 but nothing official has been announced yet. This title is called Stranger Than Heaven and you can watch a teaser below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L3XVVzsmHE&pp=ygUYZWdnIHN0cmFuZ2VyIHRoYW4gaGVhdmVu
If you ask me when this game comes out, everyone will go crazy, including me. It's a brand new story, a brand new map, a brand new era and even the graphics and the fights seem different than what we are used to. If it's done the way they made all the Yakuza games i bet it will break some records!
Let me know if you have played any of their games!