Like a Dragon fans got a bit of a surprise during theOctober 2024 Xbox Partner Previewon Thursday, as anew trailerfor the next game in the series,Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, revealed a new release date, albeit a good one. It will now be releasing on June 05, 2025, one week earlier than previously planned.
In a follow-up video released after the presentation, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama said that they convinced publisher Sega to push the release date up so players could “play the game that comes after it, with peace of mind.” While he didn’t outright say what this other game is, it’s most likelyMonster Hunter Wildsbased on a later comment.
“If you are interested in pirates, but aren’t familiar with the series overall, please have a go! After that, I hope you’ll also enjoy hunting at your own pace,” Yokoyama said.
Of course, RGG Studio wouldn’t release the game unless it was ready (at least, we hope so). Yokoyama added that the teams were able to adjust the launch date “because development is progressing more smoothly than expected.”
“We also want to deliver the game to players around the world as soon as possible,” Yokoyama said.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiitakes place afterLike a Dragon:Infinite Wealth,part of theYakuza series’spinoff franchise. Fan-favorite Goro Majima is the lead here, although he has amnesia and now has to battle pirate yakuza. This involves both close-quarters combat and naval battles. The Xbox Partner Preview trailer also revealed ways you could customize your ship, and showed off those naval battles in action for the first time. Ifpreviewsare any indication, it’s bound to be a ridiculous, over-the-top joyride.
The game was originally revealed for a February 28. 2025 launch. However, just a few days after that announcement, we got theSeptember 2024 State of Play, which revealedMonster Hunter Wildswould be coming out on the same day. The last game in Capcom’s long-running combat series wasMonster Hunter: Worldin 2018, although there have been spinoffs, DLC, and updates to tide players over during the wait for a sequel.
