The Yakuza series of video games have existed for over a decade, since its first release in 2005. Published by Sega, these action-adventure titles are set in Japan, and so feature a Japanese voice cast. Upon the Western release of the first game in 2006, Yakuza received an English dub. All other subsequent releases since then however, have only included English subtitles. With the 8th game in the series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, set to release worldwide in 2020, it appears as though an English voice option might finally be returning to series, after a 15 year absence.
In 2018, the Yakuza development team released their newest title, Judgment, a standalone game set in the Yakuza universe. What’s notable about this was release was the fact that when it arrived in the West in 2019, it brought with it an English voice option. The company credited with working on this dub was listed as PCB Productions.
With Yakuza: Like a Dragon set to release worldwide later this year, despite no official dub having been confirmed, PCB Production listed Yakuza: Like a Dragon as being one of their credits. Upon this discovery by ResetEra user ‘Aurc’, the website was subsequently updated, and the credit was removed.
While it is unconformed whether Yakuza: Like a Dragon will receive an English voice option, this – now removed – credit strongly hints at the possibility. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is set to release for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on the 16th of January, with a worldwide release to follow some time in 2020.
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KitGuru says: Have you played any of the Yakuza games? Would you like to see Yakuza: Like a Dragon receive an English dub? What did you think of Judgment? Let us know down below.