Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has revealed that he'd like Ryu Ga Gotoku's next game to be something completely different to Yakuza.
In an interview with Game Informer, Nagoshi goes into his career and what's next for Ryu Ga Gotoku after the Western release of Yakuza: Like A Dragon. The Yakuza series has exploded in popularity ever since the release of Yakuza 0 in 2017, and the continued success over the past three years has Nagoshi wanting to try something new.
“The Ryu Ga Gotoku team members, they’ve only really worked on the Yakuza series,” explains Nagoshi. “But I think it would be a waste if these really talented team members that we have aren’t able to use all of their skills to their full potential."
Ryu Ga Gotoku has tried to experiment in recent years although, as Nagoshi states, most of its games tend to stick to the standard Yakuza formula. The most recent attempt to branch out into something new was Judgment, a Yakuza spinoff with Ace Attorney inspirations.
Before that was Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, probably Ryu Ga Gotoku's most experimental title of the past decade. The game took place in an entirely different world, yet still roughly stuck to the familiar combat and structure from the Yakuza series.
If Nagoshi is to make something completely brand new in the future, it's likely not going to be a standard RPG. As Nagoshi claims in the interview, if Ryu Ga Gotoku were to create something of a different genre, it would be "challenging themselves" and it's something that the entire team is "really taking into consideration".
There's been a few rumors flying around regarding future projects from Ryu Ga Gotoku in recent months, although none of them point to any projects that aren't Yakuza related. Yakuza producer Daisuke Sato expressed an interest in remaking Yakuza Ishin and Kenzan, two very popular Yakuza spinoff titles that take place in different time periods.
The Chief Creative Officer of Sega also revealed in a live stream in December last year that the development of the next Yakuza title has already begun. Yakuza: Like A Dragon introduced new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, and it would be surprising if he appeared in just one game when you consider how many titles the previous protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, has under his belt.
Whatever is next for Ryu Ga Gotoku, it looks like the team will be able to flex their creative muscles in upcoming projects. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is the studio's first foray into turn-based combat, and it wouldn't be too surprising if future Yakuza titles include wonderfully ridiculous deviations from the norm to keep things fresh and exciting for years to come.