Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Release Date, Story, & Images Leak

The PlayStation Store slipped up, it seems, because PS Deals (via Gematsu) has captured a full game description for upcoming RGG Studio title Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, including release date, gameplay details, story events, and screenshots. Like a Dragon Gaiden apparently has a release date of November 9, 2023 on its platforms, which include PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and PC via Steam.

All the Release Date, Story, and Screenshot Leaks for Like a Dragon Gaiden from RGG Studio

The story will see Kazuma Kiryu, who faked his own death at the end of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and is now going by the name “Joryu,” being “thrust into conflict by a mysterious figure attempting to drive him out of hiding.” The journey will take Kiryu to Sotenbori, Yokohama, and a new “secret” place called the Castle, which can presumably be seen in the last gorgeous screenshot below. An informant named Akame will provide sub-missions across these regions. And the best and most important side activities are returning for Like a Dragon Gaiden as well: “Whether you’re brawling in the secret Castle arena, singing a new karaoke song, enjoying a drink at the live-action cabaret club, or racing in the pocket circuit, the world offers a variety of immersive experiences.”

Intriguingly, Kiryu will have two combat styles this time around, “Yakuza” and “Agent.” Yakuza sounds like the usual ferocious brawling, “unleashing wildly aggressive moves powered by Kiryu’s unparalleled strength and flair.” But Agent sounds really different for Kiryu, “delivering blows with absolute speed and precision, while using an array of high-tech gadgets like electrified bind wires to stun enemies then send them flying.” There is a screenshot pertaining to Agent style below as well.

If you buy Like a Dragon Gaiden on PS4, you will get a free upgrade to the PS5 version, but if you have a disc version of the PS4 game, you will need a PS5 with a disc drive (and always keep that disc inserted) to play the PS5 version. The game will support remote play on PlayStation and offer offline two-player multiplayer (probably for the usual minigames). You can look forward to all of that for the apparent November release date of Like a Dragon Gaiden.

RGG Studio had clarified when the game was first announced that it will be smaller than the usual Yakuza / Like a Dragon game, since it’s telling a side story that explains Kiryu’s journey between the events of Yakuza 6 and the upcoming Like a Dragon 8. As such, it will retail for $49.99. More details are bound to come during RGG Summit Summer 2023, which will air on Thursday, June 15.

But for now, a release date, story and gameplay details, and screenshots are plenty to munch on for Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

Update June 8, 2023: Surprisingly, Like a Dragon Gaiden received its gameplay reveal trailer at Summer Game Fest, which you can view below, and you can preorder the game to receive the Legendary Fighter Pack, which adds three more characters to fight in the Battle Arena: Goro Majima – The Mad Dog of Shimano, Taiga Saejima – The Slayer of Eighteen, and Daigo Dojima – 6th Chairman of the Tojo Clan.