The next Yakuza game won't have a physical release

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will only see a digital launch later this year. 

Yesterday on July 26, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio put out the tweet just below. While it might not look like much at first, the tweet quietly confirms speculation that Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will only receive a digital launch when it launches later this year on November 9, skipping out a physical launch entirely.

Speculation about a digital-only launch began last month in June, when the Twitter user below claimed to have received confirmation via retailers that a physical release wouldn't be happening. Curiously, RGG Studio has never actually commented on the matter whatsoever, so the new tweet is as close as we've had to confirmation on the matter to date.

"Excited but still hoping for a physical disc release," writes one response to the new tweet from RGG Studio. "I will also reply with my hope for a physical copy, to add to the count," reads another response. There's dozens of Twitter users reacting negatively to the announcement from the developer, putting forth their wishes for a physical version of Like a Dragon Gaiden.

We don't really know why the studio is forgoing a physical release, but we can have an educated guess. Remedy Entertainment is pulling a similar trick for Alan Wake 2, set to release in October, and the studio said the digital-only release was so it could keep costs down and maintain a $60 price tag for the sequel across the board.

It could be that RGG Studio is seeing similarly-restrictive costs with a physical launch for Like a Dragon Gaiden. Still, there's plenty of Yakuza fans out there pretty devastated by the fact that they might not be able to buy a physical copy of the next game in the long-running franchise. 

Let's hope Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is still to come next year in 2024, and we can only hope the mainline game is getting a physical launch.