We’re just days away from the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, and along with it Yakuza: Like A Dragon, one of the few new launch titles for the console. And while everything seems to be going smoothly here in North America, something has gone seriously wrong over in Japan.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is already available in Japan for the PlayStation 4. Released as “Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue” (translated as “Like A Dragon 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness”), the game released way back in January to rave reviews. A version for the PS5 was not announced as Sega made a deal with Microsoft to make Yakuza 7 an Xbox Series X launch title (although not an exclusive one, as it’ll also release on PC and PS4 worldwide).
The announcement that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will no longer release on Xbox Series X/S in Japan on launch day comes as a complete surprise. Reporting from GameWatch confirms that this situation is limited to just Japan and that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will release on all expected platforms worldwide on November 10.
When GameWatch asked Sega for comment, the publisher replied: “The release of the Xbox Series X version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon in Japan has not been officially announced by us.”
Something has clearly gone wrong between Sega and Microsoft for this important launch title to be essentially cancelled at the last second. We have no idea what this could mean, but we’re certainly going to keep an eye on it.
Microsoft had been courting Sega for years, hosting Sega executives back in 2018, and then securing the rights to release Phantasy Star Online 2 in the West during E3 2019. The famed MMO arrived on PC and Xbox over the summer. Because of this seemingly cozy relationship, rumors swirled that an acquisition might be in the near future, but those rumors were squashed by Microsoft itself ahead of the Tokyo Games Show.
Money is clearly no object after Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media for a cool $7.5 billion, so we’re not sure what might have caused this rift between Sega and Microsoft.
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