SEGA’S Yakuza franchise invites players into a gamified version of Japan’s most notorious criminal gang.
Here’s everything you need to know about the popular Japanese game series.
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If you want to play Yakuza in order of release then you may need to dust off your old Playstation 2 – as the first two games in the series were made for this particular console.
However, due to the game’s popularity and evolving technology – fans can play Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 on both PS4, Xbox One and PC.
There are eight main games in the Yakuza series – not including spin-offs or re-releases.
Each game watches main character Kiryu grow and become a more experienced fighter, while learning new combat styles.
Yakuza games release order
- Yakuza (2006)
- Yakuza 2 (2008)
- Yakuza 3 (2010)
- Yakuza 4 (2011)
- Yakuza 5 (2015)
- Yakuza 0 (2017)
- Yakuza 6 (2018)
- Yakuza: Like A Dragon (2020)
Yakuza timeline order
- Dragon: Ishin! – set in the 1860s
- Yakuza 0 – set in 1988
- Yakuza Kiwami – set in 2005
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 – set in 2006
- Yakuza 3 – set in 2009
- Yakuza 4 – set in 2010
- Yakuza 5 – set in 2012
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life – set in 2016
- Judgement – set in 2018
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon – set in 2019
- Lost Judgement – set in 2021
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What other Yakuza games are there?
- Yakuza: Dead Souls (2011/2012)
- Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (2014)
- Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (2018)
- Ryu ga Gotoku Online (2018)
- Judgement (2018/2019)
- Streets of Kamurocho (2020)
- Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD for Wii U – (re-release 2013)
- Yakuza Kiwami (re-release 2017/2019/2020)
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 (re-release 2017/2018/2019/2020)
- The Yakuza Remastered Collection (re-release 2019/2021)
- Dragon: Ishin! (2023)
Alongside the eight main games in the series, over the years a number of spin-off games, re-releases and compilations have been released.
The first ever franchise spin off to be released was Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! – which was released in Japan and Asia in 2008.
Just a few years later Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō also known as Project K was released in 2010 – later a sequel Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura hen, was released in 2012.
After the success of the first few spin-off games, developers continued to add to the list – here’s the following spin-offs and re-releases in the series.
How to play all your favourite games in order
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