Within the span of a few months, the Like a Dragon series (or Yakuza for us old-timers) is going to be getting two full-featured-length games. While that’s a big endeavor for most studios, it seems that studio RGG has built a system to manage that easily. However, it doesn’t seem like that was initially the plan, as Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was originally conceived to be a DLC for Infinite Wealth that eventually evolved into something bigger.
In an interview with Automaton, Like a Dragon Gaiden writer Masayoshi Yokoyama confirmed that the spin-off, Like a Dragon Gaiden, was originally intended to be DLC for the upcoming Like a Dragon sequel, Infinite Wealth.
“There isn’t a huge difference Between Like a Dragon Gaiden and Like a Dragon 8. By this I mean that, in a sense, Like a Dragon Gaiden was derived from Like a Dragon 8. We could have just told of Kiryu’s past through a thirty-minute interlude as part of Like a Dragon 8, but we decided it would be a lot more interesting as a game of its own, which is how the project came to be. Though this meant having a whole extra game to make, it still uses the same engine, so we thought “It’s not like we have to make it from scratch,” and decided to go with it. In the end, it took us about half a year to make it. “
He goes on to say that while originally planned as DLC, it eventually grew big enough to be engaging for a full experience.
“… we first considered making it as DLC, but then decided it was engaging enough for a physical edition. But, for a physical edition, we needed more content, so we decided to add some. This is how things escalated. “
What’s surprising is that the team built Like a Dragon Gaiden in a little over 6 months. The team goes on to explain in the interview how each member of the studio is assigned a specific task for every game they make. So development goes smoothly since the person who’s always been in charge of a certain thing is still handling it in the follow-ups. Talk about optimization!
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name launches November 8, 2023, for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Related Reading:
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