Summary
Masayoshi Yokoyama, one of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s directors, has declared thatLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the company’s newest game is not being planned for release on Xbox Game Pass for the time being. This might be surprising to some, asLike a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Nameinstantly joined the Xbox Game Passcatalog when the game came out in November. However, it seems like Yokoyama has a good reason for changing his tactics this time around.
RGG Studio is the Japanese developer behind the renownedYakuza/Like a Dragongames. The studio accomplished the difficult task of extending and capturing its overseas audience with games that were at one point only popular in Japan. RGG Studio’s games all have generally favorable reviews andLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthlooks to continue this trend. While the title will come out one month from now, gamers can hype themselves up by checking outthe list of confirmed minigames inLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Inan interview via Automaton Media, Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that, unlikeGaiden,Infinite Wealthwould not be instantly released on Xbox Game Pass. The director mentioned that the decision to bringLike a Dragon Gaidenso early to Game Pass was motivated by the fact that the Studio wanted to expand overseas and make it easier for new players to get familiar with the legendary Yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu. Looking back, this proved to be an efficient marketing tactic, asGaidenreceived great reviewsfrom critics, which made gamers more prone to trying the game out at a lower cost on Xbox Game Pass.
Yokoyama also admitted that he initially didn’t think thatGaidenwould enjoy the huge amount of popularity that it managed to achieve in Japan, due to the fact that it is a much shorter game compared to the other titles in the franchise. In fact,Like a Dragon Gaidenwas developed in only six months. The director calledGaidenRGG Studio’s “best-selling title in recent times,” before hyping up the imminent release ofInfinite Wealthby mentioning that the game’s story will take several days to complete and disclosing that the title may set a new record for pre-orders.
At the moment, there are no plans for Infinite Wealth to come to Game Pass. (…) for Gaiden, I thought of Game Pass as a way of ‘handing overseas users our business card,’ in other words, letting players new to the series enjoy the game and get to know Kiryu. Game Pass proved to be a very good method to invite new users to interact with the series.
Even thoughLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthwill not join Xbox Game Pass on day one, chances are that it will arrive there at some point in time. This is likely, since all the former games in the series were previously available on Game Pass.
Like a Dragon 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon 8 is a turn-based RPG set after the events of Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon. Like its predecessor, the game’s main character will once again be Ichiban Kasuga, although Kazuma Kiryu will also return as a protagonist.
