The "Yakuza" series is very popular at Tom's Guide. The strong crime drama storyline, hilarious side quests, and polished gameplay make it a favorite of our staff. In fact, Yakuza gameplay has been consistently enjoyable, even when we transitioned from open-world brawlers to turn-based RPGs in the recent Yakuza: Like a Dragon

If you liked Yakuza's foray into RPG gameplay, we have good news for you. And if you didn't like Yakuza, there's good news too: it's a great way to get a little more fun out of the game.

This information comes from IGN, which interviewed Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoya and the game's producer, Kazuki Hosokawa. After the recent announcement of Lost Judgment (the sequel to the 2018 Yakuza spin-off Judgment), the IGN team wanted to know how the two series would be differentiated going forward. The answer, as it turns out, is to separate them into two distinct genres.

"The 'Yakuza' series has transformed into a turn-based RPG. On the other hand, the "Ryu ga Gotoku" studio has the expertise to create flashy and exhilarating action games without any difficulty. Through "Lost Judgment," we decided that we should take advantage of our signature action gameplay."

For fans of Yakuza and Judgment, this arrangement seems to offer the best of both worlds; Yakuza: Like a Dragon changed the gameplay significantly from its predecessor, but the vibrant setting, offbeat humor, and labyrinthine plot are all alive and well. It strongly "felt" like a gangster game. Similarly, JUDGEMENT did not feature a yakuza protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, but the nuances of an explorable city and abundant side quests that fans have come to expect were still present.

The interview also hinted that another yakuza game is in the works. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has already announced Lost Judgment, but we are still waiting for more news on Yakuza: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has already announced Lost Judgment. Since Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has already revealed gameplay details, we can assume that "Yakuza 8" is on its way somewhere.

Generally speaking, a new Yakuza/Judgment game is released every 1-2 years, and we know that "Lost Judgment" will be released in September 2021. Therefore, the second turn-based Yakuza RPG is likely to appear in 2022 or 2023 at the latest. There are also still several Yakuza games that were not released in the West, which Sega hopes to localize if possible.

If you have never played the Yakuza series, I recommend playing the first six games on Xbox or PC with Xbox Game Pass. It takes a while, but it's fun stuff.