Yakuza: Like A Dragon Might Be Getting An English Language Dub

Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the next game in the Yakuza series, might be getting an English dub. While the first Yakuza on PS2 received a much-derided dub when it released outside of Japan, subsequent entries have been in Japanese only; now, it looks like the latest Yakuza might give players the option of playing in English.

An eagle-eyed fan on forum Resetera noticed that the game was listed on the site for PCB Productions, with the studio receiving a credit for “talent direction / mocap / vocap /dialog production” in the game. This suggests that they have worked on an English language track for the game, and the credit has since been removed. The company is based in Los Angeles, and has produced English dialog for Persona 2-4, Catherine, and several other Japanese titles.

Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also included an English-language voice option in their 2019 game Judgment, and since the latest Yakuza introduces a fresh new cast it makes sense to add English voice acting to the game despite not doing so with previous Yakuza titles. PCB Productions handled talent direction and dialog production on that title.

This is, it’s worth noting, not absolute confirmation that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will definitely receive an English language voice track. However, it seems very likely.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon releases in Japan on January 16, 2020, and will be available in the west at a later date. It will offer turn-based combat, which is a radical change for the series. It’s also review editor Edmond Tran’s most anticipated game of 2020.