Last month Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi confirmed rumors that he would be leaving RGG Studio, along with the long-time series director and producer Daisuke Sato. This, along with reports that Jonny Entertainment refuses to allow Takuya Kimura, who portrays Takayuki Yagami in the Judgement spin-off series, to portray the character on PC. With the said platform now considered vital to Sega’s growth, this along with the departures have left some aspects of the franchise up in the air for fans.
Now, in an interview with Weekly Famitsu, new series Director Masayoshi Yokoyama discussed how these departures will affect the company, as well as plans for the series moving forward. In a somewhat unusual move, both Nagoshi and Sato announced their departure via the game’s official website instead of their personal Twitter, which can be seen here. Yokoyama, commented as well to assure fans of the future of the series, having been involved with the franchise since the beginning as well.
In this interview, Yokohama stated that these departures ushered in a turning point for the studio. Both young and seasoned developers that work for the franchise have changed, but the face of the said company had long remained the same. He stated:
In the past ten years. the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has become an organization to the tune of 300 people, but Nagoshi, Sato, and myself as the set top three has continued for a long time. It’s hard to change without some sort of shock to the system.
In a company with that large number of employees, it is hard for new voices to be heard, especially when the same people control the company for as long as they did to this point. Hopefully, these departures help as Yokoyama wants them to, allowing for a new company culture to dictate where their franchises move.
Both even with all these changes, fans can expect some things to remain as they were. Case and point, during the interview Yokohama confirmed that Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza) 8 was in development currently. While he did not go into too many details he stated “I’m not able to talk about it. However, it will take place a few years after Yakuza 7 and can say that it will be a continuation of the story.”
Famitsu did not ask much about the rumors concerning the possible departure of Takuya Kimura from the Judgment franchise, although it was made clear that the franchise would have importance moving forward. Instead, it was announced that an unannounced IP was redevelopment and set within the world of Yakuza, asking fans to “Please look forward to what’s next from the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.” Though not confirmed, it is possible that this new IP is intended to replace Judgment.
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