Both SEGA and RGG Studio have been big supporters of Xbox Game Pass. Back in 2020, they released Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 into Game Pass. Eventually, the whole series (now rebranded to Like A Dragon) made its way onto the service and is still available to this day. But, you may be wondering if a Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Game Pass release is planned for the end of January.
READ MORE: ‘Like A Dragon – Ishin’ review: over-the-top excellence
The eighth mainline title in the series takes you to Hawaii, as Ichiban Kasuga and his pals take a vacation. But, before long he crosses paths with Kazuma Kiryu, “a broken man facing down his last days”. The game is set to be the biggest entry in the series yet, with the main story alone clocking in at more than 70 hours.
Add on top of the usual assortment of minigames and the new DonDoku Island location that lets you build the island of your dreams and you are going to be spending a lot of time with Ichiban and crew.
However, Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth will not be available on Game Pass as “there are no plans”, according to producer Masayoshi Yokoyama. This was confirmed in an interview with Automaton Media and marks a large diversion from what RGG Studio has done in the past. Although, Yakuza Like A Dragon (Yakuza 7) didn’t originally launch on Game Pass, but it did come to the service about seven months later.
So, this isn’t the first time the series hasn’t launched a game onto Microsoft’s subscription service. Notably, Yokoyama went on in that interview to discuss why Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was released on Game Pass back in November.
“For Gaiden, I thought of Game Pass as a way of ‘handing overseas users our business card’ – in other words, letting players new to the series enjoy the game and get to know Kiryu. Game Pass proved to be a very good method to invite new users to interact with the series.”
This makes sense as Like A Dragon Gaiden serves as a bridging point between Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, telling the story of what Kiryu has been up to between the two games. It also reintroduces Kiryu in a solid way for new fans, with a smaller, more bitesize experience.
Overall, reception to the game was positive, with it sitting at a 78 on Metacritic.
Finally, Yokoyama mentioned Larian Studios’ decision to not put Baldur’s Gate 3 on Game Pass, saying: “I understand the reasoning behind their decision very well. I think each title has its own goals and befitting ways of being provided to users.” Therefore, it seems that because Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth is the next mainline game, its main goal isn’t to bring in new players to the series so a Game Pass release doesn’t make sense initially.
However, there is always a chance it could come to the service a few months after launch like Yakuza: Like A Dragon did.
If you can’t wait until then, you can take a look at how off the wall Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth is set to be as Danny Trejo is set to appear in the game as Dwight.
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