RGG Studio and Sega shared a modern trailer for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii during yesterday’s Xbox Partner Preview, as well as a surprising modern release date: instead of scheduled for February 28, 2025, it will be released a week earlier, on February 21. Now we know why, and the reason is eminently practical.
The explanation came in a video message posted on X by RGG Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama (via GamesRadar) shortly after the trailer was released. After highlighting a few features in the trailer, he moved on to the “little surprise” at the end – a modern release date.
“This is partly because development of the game is progressing more smoothly than expected, but we also want to make the game available to players around the world as quickly as possible. We wanted you to be able to play the upcoming game with peace of mind. “
We would like to share a message from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio regarding the release date of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii 🗓️ https://t.co/ubPC197luu pic.twitter.com/HuMcz5VFZkOctober 17, 2024
A bit mysterious, isn’t it? It’s already February an absurdly arranged monthwith releases including Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (February 11), Civilization 7 (February 11), Shadows of Assassin’s Creed (February 14) i Notorious (February 18). However, this is most likely the real culprit Wild monster hunterswhich is scheduled to premiere on February 27 – the same day as the original premiere of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. This is going to be big: Monster Hunter Wilds is currently at the top of the list The most popular games on Steamso you can understand why RGG Studio might want to go out of your way.
This is not an unprecedented move. In 2020, games incl Everspace 2, The road of exileAND Medium everyone decided to make room for the upcoming colossus from Cyberpunk 2077. Recently, Alone in the gloomy the reboot jumped from October 2023 to January 2024 to bypass Alan Wake 2, Cities: Skylines 2 and Spider-Man 2 (though it ultimately only released in March), and earlier this month the MMO Brighter edges postponed the premiere by one day – not because of the game, but because of the upcoming elections in the USA.
A week may or may not be enough time to complete Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii before the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, but what really matters is getting your deck ready for the first day (and week) sales. Leaving the common slot means players interested in both don’t have to make a choice, and that could be the difference between getting off to a good start (and selling lucratively at full price) or remaining wishlisted until the next drought hits.
