New Yakuza spin-off tells Kiryu's story after Yakuza 6

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And it's launching next year

Yakuza: Like a Dragon
(Image credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio)

A new Yakuza spin-off called Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name has been announced for launch next year.

Unveiled earlier today at the RGG Summit on September 14, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name once again puts Kiryu Kazuma back in the protagonist position. It's set between Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, and the forthcoming Like a Dragon 8, telling Kiryu's story throughout the years between the two titles.

In short, we're going to see what Kiryu has actually been up to over the course of several years. The reveal trailer for the new spin-off adventure can be seen just above, and sees Kiryu attempting to adopt a new lifestyle, before he inevitably gets pulled back into the murky underworld of Japan.

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As people familiar with the Yakuza series so far will no doubt know, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life saw Kiryu fake his death, before leaving for a new life away from criminals at large. He reappeared briefly in Like a Dragon though, helping new protagonist Ichiban basically get his act together when he's down in the dumps.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will be with us at some point next year in 2023, slated to launch across both new and last-gen console systems, as well as PC. The game looks to be a fully-priced retail release, rather than DLC for Like a Dragon, but RGG Studio did say in the RGG Summit broadcast that we shouldn't expect it to be quite as long as other full games in the series.

Elsewhere in the new showcase, RGG Studio revealed Like a Dragon Ishin's release date, as well as a bunch of new characters from across the latest entries in the series.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.