The livestream will happen next week on Sega’s Twitch channel- on September 14 at 19:00 JST / 10:00 UTC / 03:00 PT to be precise. The developer doesn’t give any indication as to what the stream will entail, but the assumption is that new upcoming games will be announced.

The first name that comes to mind is, of course, Yakuza 8. We’ve known for a while now that the next Yakuza title is in development, and perhaps Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is ready to formally unveil it.

Details on the game have been scant up until now, but RGG Studio has previously confirmed that like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the next game in the series will be a turn-based RPG. It’s also been confirmed that it’ll be set several years after Like a Dragon, with Ichiban Kasuga returning as the protagonist, and that a new town will also be introduced.

Of course, RGG Studio confirmed earlier that it was working on multiple unannounced projects simultaneously, so there’s a second upcoming project takes the stage at the upcoming stream as well. Either way, we’ll be covering it live when it happens, so stay tuned for more updates.

https://twitter.com/RGGStudio/status/1567830960133099520

Now, however, we seem to have gotten our first brief glimpses of it- though not through official channels, interestingly enough. As spotted and reported by Famitsu, MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura recently uploaded a video (which you can check out below) in which he tours RGG Studios.

The video not only showed off-screen images from the game showcasing a number of familiar characters (including Ichiban sporting a new hairstyle), but also featured Sega president Haruki Satomi confirming that the game will feature a new town as well. The aforementioned Asakura will also appear as a character in the game.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has previously also confirmed that the next Yakuza game will be another turn-based RPG, similar to Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

The developer is currently also working on multiple unannounced games besides Yakuza. Read more on that through here.

In a recent livestream (via Twinfinite), Masayoshi Yokoyama – who was confirmed as the developer’s new studio head in October of last year – stated that the development of Yakuza 8 (or whatever it ends up being called), is progressing well. According to Yokoyama, work on writing the game’s story is nearly finished, while some actors have also started recording.

Yokoyama also said that new information on the game might come later this year, though as of now, there isn’t much else known about it. In November last year, it was confirmed that the game will be set several years after Yakuza: Like a Dragon, with Ichiban Kasuga returning as protagonist, while the developers have also said that, like its predecessor, Yakuza 8 will be a turn-based RPG.

Director Masayoshi Yokoyama, who is also the new head of the studio after Toshihiro Nagoshi left to join NetEase, will be sharing new information. Whether this is a new game or not remains to be seen. Yokoyama previously confirmed that the next Yakuza title is in development and set several years after Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

More recently, he revealed that alongside Yakuza 8 (final name yet to be revealed), the developer has a “lot of unannounced” titles in the works. “At some point I’ll be able to discuss some things that I think will surprise you all, so look forward to that.” Perhaps April 29th is finally that time. It’s unknown whether the Judgment series will see any follow-ups due to a reported dispute between Sega and Johnny and Associates, the latter being actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

However, the studio is also working on unannounced titles outside of the Yakuza and Judgment series. Further details weren’t provided but Yokoyama did state that, “We will continue to cherish the Judgement series.” A reported dispute between Sega and Johnny and Associates (the talent agency for actor Takuya Kimura, who plays Takayuki Yagami) pointed towards Lost Judgment perhaps being the last title in the series. It now seems that this may actually be the case, at least for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, the next Yakuza title will likely be another turn-based role-playing game, based on comments from Ryu ga Gotoku Studio earlier this year. When it will launch remains to be seen so stay tuned for more details in the future.