The Yakuza series will be called Like a Dragon going forward

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The series name change brings it in line with the Japanese naming.

Sega is officially killing off the Yakuza name and will call the series Like a Dragon from now on. That means 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon will, ironically and appropriately, be the last game with Yakuza in the name. 

The clarification was made by Sega to Kotaku's Luke Plunkett, who told him that the name would "more closely align with the Japanese name."

That makes sense. In Japan, the series has always been called Ryu Ga Gotoku, which means... Like a Dragon. The studio that makes the series is also called Ryu Ga Gotoku. The branding, then, only changes in future Western releases. Still, expect to see the series referred to as Yakuza intermittently while we all get used to the swap.

No idea what all of us in the games press are going to do about that change, though. Telling you the trivia that it was called Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan was always good for a free sentence in any article about the series.

The series formerly known as Yakuza has seen unprecedented success in the past few years, even selling 2.8 million copies on PC alone. It's one that Sega didn't advertise in the West that much during past years, but has started to treat as a big release. For Sega's boss, that's because it commits to its authentically Japanese vision.

That Japanese vision is also probably why we're getting a remake of Like a Dragon: Ishin!, the samurai-era Yakuza spinoff. Also why it's only getting subtitles, not dubs. Gotta stick to that vision.

Jonathan Bolding
Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.