SEGA trademarks Yakuza Wars, splitting fan theories between a Like A Dragon/Sakura Wars crossover and Kiryu Clan battles you can command while on the toilet
A Total War-style RTS where Goro Majima hordes the nukes also looks to be aboard the speculation train.
SEGA has trademarked the name "Yakuza Wars" in Japan, and naturally it's triggered a bunch of speculation from fans of that well-known series the publisher's long been behind which features just a few Japanese gangsters in nice suits. I'm talking about Ryu Ga Gotoku's Like A Dragon franchise, formerly known, lest we forget, as the Yakuza series.
As spotted by Gematsu, the trademark in question was filed on July 26, with the listing offering no inkling as to what it could mean, aside from it having been done by SEGA and being related to video games.
Since SEGA hasn't currently announced a game with Yakuza Wars as its title or subtitle, and Ryu Ga Gotoku having recently teased that fans will be "be surprised" by its next game, the speculation mill among people who probably own Majima construction hats has gone into overdrive.
On Like A Dragon Reddit, the three big theories which look to be gaining traction are some kind of crossover between Like A Dragon and another SEGA series in the form of Sakura Wars, which got a big reboot back in 2020, a Like A Dragon RTS game, or a Dynasty Warriors-style Yakuza musou game.
Then there's the elephant in the room. The idea of a mobile game - possibly with some gacha mechanics - which basically takes Yakuza 6's Kiryu Clan battles and turns that into a full Mafia City-style thing you can get addicted to. Imagine, commanding Kiryu's goon forces against rival gangs in a war for the underworld, all from the comfort of your toilet seat. See, it maybe isn't as bad an idea as you might first think.
All of this said, it's probably not wise to just assume this Yakuza Wars is the next RGG game or connected to that studio in any way, especially given the studio has famously dropped the word Yakuza from the titles of what's now the Like A Dragon series. With that being the case, suddenly putting out a game with this name would be a weird about-face.
So, we'll just have to wait and see. What do you think Yakuza wars will turn out to be? Let us know below!