‘Yakuza 6’ will release worldwide more than a year after its Japanese launch

By Brad Jones Published August 18, 2017

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was released in Japan in December but now Sega has confirmed that it will be available worldwide in March 2018. The sequel will be the second title in the series to be developed for the PlayStation 4, following the prequel that made it to the west earlier this year.

The Yakuza saga began in 2005 when the first game in the series was released for the PlayStation 2. Each main-story game has featured gangster Kazuma Kiryu as the protagonist, chronicling his ever-evolving role in the brutal and deadly Tojo clan.

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At this point, western Yakuza fans are used to having to wait a while in order to play the latest installment in the franchise. It is not at all uncommon for it to take more than a year for each new game to be released outside of Japan.

Despite looking like action games on the surface, Yakuza titles are closer to the RPG genre. There is a huge amount of dialogue to flesh out the ongoing storyline and it takes a long time to localize it properly, doing justice to the narrative while maintaining the franchise’s unique tone.

Yakuza 6 maintains the series’ penchant for wearing its quirky sense of humor on its sleeve, contrasting the hard-hitting combat that defines its main campaign with bizarre side activities like managing a cat cafe. It is a bit of a peculiar mix, but fans have come to expect nothing less from each new installment’s open world.

Sega also confirmed that Yakuza 6 will receive a limited edition game packed with collectible items when it launches worldwide. Strangely enough, it is called the After Hours Premium Edition and is themed around recreational drinking, featuring two bar glasses, two coasters, two ice stones, a collectible outer box, and the game itself. The limited edition will retail for $90, according to a report from Gamespot.

Even the standard edition of the game comes with an added bonus, as pre-orders and copies purchased at launch will be packed with a hardcover art book.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is scheduled to launch exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on March 20, 2018.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

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