An image shown during a recent RGG Studio broadcast has fueled speculation that Yakuza Kiwami 4 may already be in development. While some fans are already debating whether the shot was an intentional teaser or an accidental early reveal, the theory itself remains shaky and a Yakuza 4 remake is just one possible explanation for what happened.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's "Kiwami" cycle, named for a Japanese word often translated as "extreme," began with Yakuza Kiwami, which launched internationally in 2017. An English-language release of Kiwami 2 followed in summer 2018. After a long break, Yakuza Kiwami 3 was revealed and released in September 2025 and February 2026, respectively, debuting alongside a new companion story Dark Ties, starring Yakuza 3 antagonist Yoshitaka Mine. The remake takes place in a new continuity and makes various story changes, which—without spoiling anything—are particularly significant during the game's finale. Yakuza Kiwami 3 thus ends on a much different note than the original did, which is why some fans assumed any follow-up adapting Yakuza 4 would need more time to align the older plot with the new continuity. Only four months later, a vocal subset of the Like a Dragon community is debating whether that...
