Yakuza Kiwami 3 and its tie-in game, Dark Ties, release tomorrow, and that might be your lot, at least insofar as Kiwami games go. In a recent Japanese-language livestream spotted and translated by fans on Reddit (and verified by PCG's crack international cadre), RGG studio boss Masayoshi Yokoyama declared that "I think Yakuza Kiwami 3 will be the last one one, and the Kiwami line will come to an end."
Yokoyama announced Kiwami 3 will the last game in the 'Kiwami' line, and will "potentially" start a new line of games from r/yakuzagames
Which might be for the best, all things considered. Though I enjoyed the slice of Kiwami 3 I got to play ahead of its reveal last year, the game and its studio have been torching fan goodwill in the time since.
Despite notionally being a remake of Yakuza 3, the third Kiwami looks to have severely cut back on the original game's subquests, inserted an iffy retcon or two, and most egregiously cast Japanese actor Teruyuki Kagawa, who in 2022 admitted to sexual harassment, in the role of antagonist Hamazaki.
None of which, I imagine, has anything to do with RGG and Sega's inclination to retire the Kiwami brand—that will likely have been decided long ago—but it certainly lends a particular vibe to Yokoyama's announcement: like the games are retreating from the stage amid a shower of tomatoes rather than bowing out with a final curtain call.
This is not to say, though, that RGG is done with Kiryu. In fact, it sounds like Yokoyama has plans for something like a new, post-Kiwami 3 timeline that might diverge from the stories told in the original Yakuzas 4 through 6. "I don't think it'll continue as the Kiwami series anymore, I think a different series will begin.
"Not something like Like A Dragon 9, but rather a new series on a different line, with a different meaning. That might be something you'll understand when you play Yakuza Kiwami 3."
Ordinarily, I'd be keen to see whatever madness RGG was cooking up, but I'd be lying if I said the furore around Kiwami 3 hadn't put a big dampener on my warm feelings towards the Yakuza series. I don't think it's just me, either; I reckon RGG has quite a bit of work to do in order to win fans back.
