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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will kick off a crowded 2024 for RPG lovers

Sega released two lengthy new trailers for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth as part of its latest RGG Summit. We not only got more plot and story details about the upcoming Like a Dragon title but a release date as well: January 26, 2024.

Ichiban fights a guy with a machete in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Sega

Previously, the game only had a vague “early 2024” release date that developers use for games coming out anytime from January to May, so this release date is a bit sooner than expected for the game. It also means that Infinite Wealth launches on the same day as Tekken 8 and arrives ahead of some other highly anticipated RPGs next year, like Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

A ten-minute story trailer for Infinite Wealth confirmed lots of new story details, which you might want to avoid if you don’t want spoilers. If you don’t mind, the trailer reveals that Ichiban is in Honolulu City to find his mother after losing his job and hitting a rough patch in his relationship with Saeko. Meanwhile, Kiryu has been diagnosed with cancer, and it’s revealed to the public that he’s just in hiding, not dead. From there, the trailer continues to tease yet another wild story centered around taking on organized crime that features characters from across the entire series.

LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH | STORY TRAILER

As for the gameplay trailer, it confirms that most of the game takes place in Hawaii, which has been recreated with a dynamic weather system. It also confirms that Infinite Wealth is a turn-based RPG like its predecessor, although Kiryu can “awaken his fighting spirit” to temporarily fight enemies in real time. The job system and Poundmates also return and players can obtain them by doing various jobs around Hawaii. There are also tons of weird minigames for things like being a bike courier, Sujimon battles, and online dating.

LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH | GAMEPLAY REVEAL TRAILER

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on January 26, 2024. If you want to play some of the game a bit early, a demo for it will be included with this November’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.  

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Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
How long is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth?
Ichiban, Nanba, and Adachi strutting.

Prior to launch, Masayoshi Yokoyama, the head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, made bold claims about just how much time players would spend in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.Yokoyama claimed that "if you attempt to clear everything, it may never end." Obviously, that was hyperbole, but just how much content really is in the game? The series is known for its lengthy, narratively rich main campaigns, dozens of substories, and deep mini-games such as Dondoko Island. Now that we've had a chance to see the conclusion to Ichiban and friends' latest adventures through the tropical island of Hawaii, we can fill you in on how many hours you can expect to put into this title.
How long is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth?

Because of how much optional content there is in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, this answer will vary based on what you are interested in. To start off simply, however, we can speak about just doing the main campaign. You won't be able to just mainline the story here without hitting a wall where you just won't be strong enough to progress, but if you do as little optional content as possible, you can expect to put in 45 hours or more to complete it. This game is very cutscene-heavy, so unless you skip them and ignore the story completely, there's not much you can do to cut down on that hour count.

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Don’t start Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth without playing this Xbox Game Pass title first
Kiryu listens to a message in his earpiece in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

The entire Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) series is available as part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog, so you might be scratching your head wondering where to start. With Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launching in a couple of weeks and shaping up to be “the series’ ultimate climax," the pressure is on to get into the series soon. Although every Like a Dragon game is worth a playthrough at some point for those who love crime dramas and video games with wild narratives, if you can only play one this month before Infinite Wealth launches, make it Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

This isn't the best game in the series; I gave it a three-star review when it launched in November. Despite that, I recognize that multiple factors make Like a Dragon Gaiden the perfect game in the series to get into before you play Infinite Wealth. And as a day-one Xbox Game Pass release, this two-month-old title cements itself as a must-play this month.

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Two Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth heroes perform a tag team attack.

Before I got into the Like a Dragon series (or Yakuza, as it was still known at the time), I watched from the sidelines with bewildered curiosity. I assumed it was a simple crime game, but every once and a while, I’d catch a wild clip of a goofy cabaret minigame or impassioned karaoke performance and realize I knew absolutely nothing about the series. I finally learned about its eccentric, soap opera glory with 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but I can’t imagine how those still looking in from the outside will react to everything I’m about to write about Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

A few months back, I was invited to a marathon hands-on session that had me playing several hours of the upcoming RPG. It seemed like overkill on paper, but after 90 minutes, it became clear why Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio had insisted on showing off such a sizable chunk of hands-on gameplay. In a series known for its flurry of creative gameplay swings, Infinite Wealth is already, by far, the most unpredictable installment yet.

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