During its showcase for the future of itsYakuzafranchise, developer Ryu Ga Gatoku Studio announced that in the west, the franchise would now be rebranded asLike a Dragon. According to a Sega representative who spoke to Kotaku, the rebrand is to for consistency's sake:in Japan, the series is known asRyū ga Gotoku, aka "Like a Dragon."
Outside of Japan,Sega's crime franchise has been known asYakuzasince the original game debuted in 2006 to better illustrate what the games were about. It's not every day that franchises change their names, and perhaps the closest example was when Activision added "Call of Duty"onto the 2009Modern Warfare 2,as brand awareness for it was lower without the logo.
TheYakuzaname stuck for multiple installments until 2020, when the seventh installment was calledYakuza: Like a Dragonin the west, andLike a New Dragonin Japan. The only other instance of a name change for the franchise has been itsspinoff seriesJudge Eyes,which is known asJudgmentoutside of Japan.
Like a Dragon'srebrand will make itself known beginning in February 2023 with the period piece spinoff,Like a Dragon:Ishin. The franchise will continue withLike a Dragon:The Man Who Erased His Namelater that same year, andLike a Dragon 8in 2024.
TheLike a Dragonfranchise has come to be extremely popular in the west over time thanks to various sequels. Given how long the name has been running outside of Japan, it'll be interesting to see how Sega gets the name change across forthose not already in the know.
