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Yakuza Developer Reveals New Remake With Stunning Trailer
Fans of the open-world crime series Yakuza/Like a Dragon are on the cusp of celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary in December 2025. With that in mind, developer RGG Studio took to the stage at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) to announce one of the most-requested remakes from the long-running series. Previously, fans have enjoyed remakes of the first and second games, but today, the developers officially announced that Yakuza Kiwami 3 is finally coming. This full remake promises to give even veteran fans new content to dive into, and it’ll look beautiful while doing so.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 was officially revealed at the RGG Summit that took place during TGS. There, the devs at RGG showed off a new trailer for the upcoming remake, confirming that it’s being remade from the ground up in the Dragon Engine, which was first created for Yakuza 6. That’s an important step for Yakuza fans because it means Kiwami 3 should play as good as it looks.
After all, one of the strengths of the Dragon Engine has been the exceptional melee combat we’ve seen in games like Yakuza 6 and Judgment. While we haven’t seen Kiryu Kazama in action for Kiwami 3 yet, it’s safe to expect it’ll be the classic brawler gameplay fans love. And, to be fair, Yakuza 3 is a game that could use an update like this one.
With the Kiwami remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2, Yakuza 3 is now the oldest game in RGG’s catalog. Despite still being a great game, you can definitely feel its age, even when playing through its remastered version. Giving Yakuza 3 a full Kiwami-style remake is sure to please longtime fans, and will introduce newer fans to a softer side of the series’ hero, Kiryu.
In Yakuza 3, Kiryu has essentially left the yakuza behind and is running an orphanage on the beaches of Okinawa. Fans get to see Kiryu fully embrace his Uncle Kaz role, raising Harauka Sawamura and several other orphans. Given how much the franchise has delved into that aspect of Kiryu’s life in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, it’s great to see the developers give players an updated way to learn that backstory.
Plus, Yakuza 3 introduces us to one of Kiryu’s best friends. Rikiya Shimabukuro doesn’t have an extended stay in the Yakuza franchise, but his impact is massive, proving to be one of Kiryu’s most trusted allies. Unfortunately, the developers have replaced his original character model with the new voice actor, which is sure to upset many fans.
So far, the developers at RGG Studio haven’t given us too many hints at the new content coming to the game. They instead focused on breaking down the cast, showing off all of the returning voice actors. However, we did learn that Yakuza Kiwami 3 will feature both English and Japanese voices, following the recent trend set by Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. And while it’s not directly related to Kiwami 3, RGG is delivering a new Gaiden game, called Dark Tides, which stars Yoshitaka Mine, the main antagonist of Yakuza 3.
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