The technical director of Yakuza / Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has stated he desires to make a new Dragon Engine after eight years and 10 video games within the present one.

Yutaka Ito advised Automaton he’d like to construct a new recreation engine specializing in “high-spec” consoles, however made clear this wasn’t an official choice by RGG Studio simply but.

“The Like a Dragon sequence has developed technologically with every title, however on the core of the sequence is the Dragon Engine that was developed for Yakuza 6,” Ito stated. “On this sense, personally, I’d like to strive to make a new Dragon Engine specialised for high-spec consoles, and with it, to develop a new action-adventure recreation. That is simply what I personally really feel, so it has nothing to do with the studio’s precise plans.”

Ito clearly has some affect as technical director of RGG Studio but it surely’s unclear if followers’ hopes for an upgraded engine will emerge anytime quickly. The Dragon Engine has to this point been used to create Yakuza 6: The Music of Life, Yakuza Kiwami 2, First of the North Star: Misplaced Paradise, Judgement, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Misplaced Judgement, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Title, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the upcoming Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

RGG Studio is thought for its immediate releases, and this checklist is someway simply a fraction of its general output as in the identical time it is also launched Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 Remastered, Tremendous Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, Judgement Remastered, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, Tremendous Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, and Tremendous Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble.

However releasing so many video games has some drawbacks, as whereas every Yakuza recreation has reviewed properly, followers have complained about animations and belongings that get reused over a number of entries. It is for causes akin to these that followers are keen for a new engine, not to point out the technological leap that will doubtlessly include leaving the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era behind.

Ito added to this considerably, saying that whereas RGG Studio has discovered methods to squeeze extra life out of the Dragon Engine with every entry, it is also being held again by protecting its video games on the earlier console era.

“We wish to keep away from limiting ourselves due to efficiency as a lot as potential, however not everybody performs the Like a Dragon sequence on higher-end consoles, so we wish to determine a future plan on this in some unspecified time in the future,” he stated.

This once more stops in need of confirming a new engine being in improvement at RGG Studio, and as talked about it is already revealed its subsequent recreation as Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii as one other Dragon Engine entry.

That is simply a spin-off, nonetheless, leaving followers with a little hope that the subsequent mainline recreation, Like a Dragon 9, will maybe make that technological bounce. RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama even stated in 2022 that the Dragon Engine is “a bit previous.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll speak about The Witcher all day.