One of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA’s surprises may have slipped out early — but the question is, will this name stick?

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is currently developing Stranger Than Heaven and a new Virtua Fighter, so expectations are high that another Like a Dragon game will soon follow. In the West, the long-running franchise is now branded as Like a Dragon, though in Japan it continues under its original name, Ryu Ga Gotoku. Ahead of next week’s RGG Summit, however, it seems someone at SEGA or the studio accidentally revealed the next entry — with the official website briefly referencing Yakuza Kiwami 3.

The slip-up was quickly noticed on Twitter, and Gematsu also reported on it. Although SEGA and RGG Studio moved fast to take the page down, the listing lived on in Google’s cache and could be retrieved by searching “龍が如く 極 3” on ryu-ga-gotoku.com. To make matters easier, Gematsu provided a screenshot showing the mention. The key point: the Japanese kanji for “Kiwami” is 極.

Since Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 were full remakes of the first two entries in the series, it only makes sense that Yakuza Kiwami 3 would be a remake of Yakuza 3. If accurate, this means that in addition to Stranger Than Heaven, Virtua Fighter, and the next Like a Dragon installment, fans can also expect Kiwami 3 to make an official appearance at next week’s RGG Summit and at Tokyo Game Show 2025. Interestingly, last year RGG series director Masayoshi Yokoyama hinted that a Kiwami 3 release was on the horizon. That “someday” might now be closer than expected.

The bigger question remains the title itself. With the franchise having dropped the “Yakuza” name outside Japan, will the remake officially be branded as Like a Dragon Kiwami 3 in the West?

Source: Gematsu