Yakuza: Like a Dragon has reportedly be indefinitely postponed in Japan on Xbox Series X; with Sega stating they made no announcement of the port.
The game launched in Japan on January 16th via the PlayStation 5, and was set to launch on Xbox Series X on November 10th. For the west, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is launching across Windows PC (via Steam and the Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 10th, with a PlayStation 5 release coming next year on March 2nd, 2021.
However, Japanese gaming news outlet Game Watch (thanks VGC!) reports that Microsoft Japan has announced the “indefinite postponement” (translation: DeepL) of the game, with no reason stated. Despite this, the Japanese Microsoft webpage for the game (known as Like a Dragon 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness in Japan) reportedly still lists the release date as November 10th.
Speaking to Game Watch, publisher Sega told them “The release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon for Xbox Series X for the Japanese market has not been officially announced by the company”. Again, we must emphasize we are using machine translation; the original sentence being “「Xbox Series X版『Yakuza: Like a Dragon』の日本国内向けへの発売は、当社として正式に発表したものではございません」“.
VGC translates this as Sega saying the game “has not been officially announced by us.” Even so, it is hard to imagine the announcement of the release dates in Japan going unnoticed by Sega.
In earlier news, Bloomberg reported PlayStation employees and developers reportedly losing faith in Japan as a market, while Microsoft is seeking to seize it with acquisitions. While Microsoft are attempting to gain new footing in the region, this would be a black mark against them.
Unlike prior Yakuza titles, Yakuza: Like a Dragon focuses on Ichiban Kasuga. Despite serving an 18-year prison sentence for a crime he did not commit on behalf of his yakuza family, they disown him after he is freed. In another change of pace from prior games, Ichiban and his friends fight back in RPG combat, but with all the wild substories and minigames the series is known for.
You can find the full rundown on the game (via Steam) below.
Image: Steam
