PREVIEW – Stranger Than Heaven, the game previously known as Project Century, is not being built as just another historical action-adventure. The new project from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the team behind Yakuza and Like A Dragon, moves across five eras and five Japanese cities while folding dirty street fights, criminal ambition, music production, and the birth of Japan’s underworld into one decades-spanning story.

Stranger Than Heaven is a new action-adventure that will take players through five different eras and five different cities. The game comes from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the developer behind the Yakuza series and the Like A Dragon entries, and it was originally revealed under the name Project Century. There had already been hints about why that working title was chosen, but the recent Xbox materials finally confirmed that sections of the story will be set across different time periods, with new trailers showing the eras we will be travelling through.

Players can expect the same kind of action the studio has delivered in its Yakuza and Like A Dragon games, but the eras and shifting settings give the whole project a stylish and fresher historical edge. Stranger Than Heaven looks like a historical crime caper that can somehow juggle dirty brawling, criminal organizations, music, and show business. What makes the whole thing especially interesting is that this does not look like another RGG game with a new name slapped on it, but a decades-spanning crime story built around Japanese modernity, the underworld, personal identity, and the act of inventing yourself under the spotlight.

When Does The Path Into Crime Begin, And Where Can Players Join It?

Stranger Than Heaven is set to release in Winter 2026. Last year, we also got a glimpse behind the scenes of the game’s development during the 2025 Tokyo Game Show, where progress was said to be going well. Then, during the Xbox Partner Preview event in May, the launch window was confirmed for the end of the year, meaning that if development stays on track, there is not a particularly long wait left before players can properly step into Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s new world. Sega and RGG Studio have confirmed that Stranger Than Heaven will arrive on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, while it will also be part of Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Game Pass, so subscribers there are in a particularly strong position.

There are currently no concrete expectations for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, especially given the graphical weight seen in the teaser trailer. Still, RGG Studio’s Yakuza games have not been strangers to Nintendo platforms through later ports, so it is not something that should be entirely ruled out for the future. Stranger Than Heaven cannot currently be pre-ordered, but it can be wishlisted across multiple platforms. Pre-orders and more information on the different editions are likely to go live closer to the Winter 2026 release window.

From Project Century To Stranger Than Heaven: What Has Been Shown So Far?

The game was first shown under the name Project Century during The Game Awards 2024, where the reveal was made up of pre-alpha footage. That means the game was still in a very early stage of development at the time, but the rain-soaked image of Japan in 1915 already gave the premiere trailer a strong hook. Since this is the only trailer so far that takes place in the 1910s, it seems fair to say that the Project Century name was a nod to the amount of time the game will eventually cover. The Summer Game Fest 2025 trailer was much more in-depth, although it still kept plenty of cards close to its chest: the title announcement footage showed more melee combat on bustling streets, placed part of the setting in a different decade, and hinted at the game’s protagonist. The PEGI 18 warning at the beginning also makes it clear that the graphic combat and grit associated with the Yakuza games are not missing from Stranger Than Heaven.

Revealed as part of the Xbox Partner Direct, the Cast & Story Reveal trailer went much deeper into the game’s premise and its large cast of characters. It explained more clearly that these characters will evolve across 50 years and five different time periods in the story. A longer behind-the-scenes look shown as part of the showcase also introduced RGG Studio’s new combat system for the first time, revealing a more grounded and direct direction compared with the studio’s earlier, more arcade-like Yakuza brawling. Xbox’s dedicated recap also highlighted the story, the cities, lead protagonist Makoto Daito, the new combat system, and the roles played by Snoop Dogg and his son Cordell Broadus within the game’s broader ensemble.

Five Eras, Five Cities, And The Shadow Of The Tojo Clan

Stranger Than Heaven will be set across five different eras and five cities in Japan. During the Xbox Partner Preview stream in March 2026, a Five Eras reveal trailer officially confirmed that the story will take players through different time periods. An Xbox Wire post, featuring an interview with RGG Studio representative and executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama, then explained that sections of the game will take place in 1915, 1929, 1943, 1951, and 1965. Yokoyama described five cities and five eras as a massive undertaking, adding that the team is putting tremendous care into bringing to life times and places it feels are rarely explored in games.

The settings include Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Shizuoka, and Tokyo, and it seems the game will shift location as the time periods progress through the story. Makoto and Yu, for instance, arrive on the shore of Japan in Kokura, Fukuoka, where their lives begin to diverge, while the final time period in the game takes place in Kamurocho, Tokyo, during the 1960s. That matters because Kamurocho is the fictional city district where the Yakuza games are set, closely inspired by the real Kabukicho. With the Tojo Clan also being mentioned, the two series appear to be connected. Even so, like the Judgment spin-off series, Stranger Than Heaven seems to be relatively standalone.

The story begins with Makoto Daito fleeing America. As a half-Japanese and half-American young man, he has faced prejudice, so he wants to return to the place he sees as his origin. There, he meets fellow stowaway Yu, and both of them are captured by smuggler Orpheus, played by Snoop Dogg. Yet Orpheus sees something in the boys and decides to grant their wish by taking them to Japan, where he himself is eager to begin new criminal enterprises. After arriving in Japan, Makoto and Yu go their separate ways. Eventually, Makoto teams up with Orpheus again, then meets Yu once more and discovers that his old companion has built a comfortable, money-flush life for himself. Across Stranger Than Heaven’s decades-spanning story, Makoto and Yu are the main characters, while Makoto builds both criminal and musical enterprises: he becomes a showman, puts together live concerts, scouts people, and creates his own network in the music world. In the trailers, Makoto appears across different time periods, interacting with various characters and what look like gangs in the cities. The most recent trailer seems to open with Makoto himself setting up the idea of the Tojo Clan we later come to know in Yakuza. The whole game may be a framing device following how Makoto arrived at this moment, and what exactly it means for him.

Fists, Blades, Choices, And Music: Playing Through Makoto’s Life

Stranger Than Heaven is a third-person action game in which the player explores shady alleys, crowded city streets, and dangerous neighborhoods, running into fists around every corner. The gameplay shown in the title reveal footage featured weighty, grounded combat with interactive environments. It is not just fist-fighting either: Molotov cocktails, guns, and advantages found in the world are all at the characters’ disposal. Want to throw a guy off a ledge? It looks like that will be possible. There is a real emphasis on good old boxing here, so if you enjoy combat with minimal weapons and a strong focus on body-to-body fighting, this could be a lot of fun.

Stranger Than Heaven features a brand-new combat system for RGG Studio, and it marks a departure from the more arcade-like combat seen throughout Yakuza. Here, players control each of Makoto’s arms and legs independently, meaning each blow is directed by the player and combos are quite literally in their hands. Holding both triggers lets you grab enemies, alternating them allows for the classic one-two, and the system gives brawls a genuinely weighty and grounded feel. According to Xbox Wire’s developer recap, the weapons also go far beyond a few simple tools: knives, hammers, mallets, old masterworks such as katanas, and brand-new inventions of the era can all appear. These weapons can be upgraded, can carry special attacks and passive abilities, and the combat system is also supported by powerful finishing moves and context-sensitive attacks.

In one gameplay moment shown so far, the player character stands over a masked opponent with a threatening fist raised in the air, and two options appear on screen during this brief pause: “Show him mercy,” or “Show him no mercy.” That is something Yakuza games never really had, so it looks as if morality-testing choices will be sprinkled in among the heavy volume of fighting. There are also survival game and simulation elements, such as hunger and thirst meters. The Five Eras trailer also showed activities like arm wrestling, and much like past Yakuza games, it looks as if Makoto can enjoy a nice meal in the city, which will likely tie into the hunger meter. A card-based mini-game will also be part of the package.

Music itself is also a factor in gameplay. As a music producer and music lover, Makoto can track down sounds in the environment to inspire new tracks. These sounds can come from almost anywhere: dog barks, city noise, or even enemies encountered in combat. For live shows, Makoto can rehearse, place each talent he has scouted on stage, and eventually watch them perform live. It feels like an evolution of the side activities found in the Yakuza series, except here it is not just optional color, but a major part of Makoto’s life and the lives of his friends. The upside is that there is plenty of time to catch up on your backlog before launch. In the meantime, the best open-world games or the best Yakuza games can help fill the wait if you want to get into the kind of urban, criminal, character-driven madness that Stranger Than Heaven seems to be building on. Otherwise, patience is the key while we wait to find out exactly what mystery we will be chasing in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s new game.

-Gergely Herpai „BadSector”-

Source: GamesRadar, Xbox Wire, SEGA