Yakuza studio Ryu Ga Gotoku is working on a new franchise, according to a new interview.
During an interview with Famitsu (transcribed by ryokutya and translated by VGC), studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that Ryu Ga Gotoku is planning a whole new franchise.
“We’re also working on unannounced titles outside of [Yakuza and Judgement],” he said.
Although a sequel to Yakuza: Like A Dragon has already been confirmed, it looks as though the studio is looking to expand its portfolio. And with the future of the franchise looking to expand outside of Japan, it’s a good time for the studio to be looking at other ideas.
“We will continue to cherish the Judgement series,” added Yokoyama.
At the moment, it’s unclear what this new franchise will be – no further details have been revealed. But it looks as though it will be developed alongside the upcoming Yakuza sequel.
It’s also unclear whether or not the Judgement series will also continue.
Either way, it looks as though there’s some like in old Yakuza titles, too. Sega recently announced plans to remaster, remake and reboot some of its older games, with Yakuza highlighted as one of the studios biggest properties.
“Previous titles are still good enough to be sold today,” said a report from Sega. “Sega has a long history of IPs which we intend to remake, remaster etc, so that the quality matches the current market, and they can be re-released successfully. This is our strategy. As we expect digital sales to continue to progress over physical releases, we predict our games will sell as ‘long tail titles’ free from the difficulties of physical production.”
