Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is by far the biggest Steam launch in Yakuza history

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the biggest Yakuza series game launch on Steam by a long way.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's RPG follow-up just launched earlier today, January 26, and it's off to a flying start on Steam. According to SteamDB, a database which tracks Steam players and their games played, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has peaked at a concurrent player count of 34,344 less than 24 hours after it first released.

That's a mammoth launch for RGG Studio. For comparison's sake, the second-biggest Yakuza game series launch on Steam is Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, but even that came nowhere near to this new figure, with a peak player count of 13,737 according to SteamDB.

The figure for Infinite Wealth is more than triple the peak player count of its direct RPG predecessor. SteamDB has 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon peaking at a concurrent player count of 9,535, which is still a pretty strong debut for a game series going in a wildly different direction, and on a platform it hasn't historically prioritized. 

This must be nothing but good news for RGG Studio. To have its two most recent games both set concurrent player records for the Yakuza series at large on Steam bodes really well for the developer going forward. It's also worth noting Infinite Wealth is enjoying a 'Very Positive' aggregate review rating from players on Steam after over 900 user reviews.

Infinite Wealth has also set records for the Yakuza series elsewhere - it's currently the best-reviewed Yakuza game to date from critics. Read our very own Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth review for a look at why we called it "one of the best RPGs we've played in years."

You can also check out our pick of the must-play video games of winter 2024 for other bangers.