SEGA has announced the Yakuza 0 release date for U.S. and European territories, confirming the gangster-’em-up prequel will launch on January 24, 2017.
The game will be available as both a digital download and boxed copy, and will be released exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
"If you’ve only heard some friends shout ‘Play Yakuza!’ from the rooftops of the internet, Yakuza 0 is the perfect game to get into the series," commented localization producer Scott Strichar, in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
"Yakuza 0 is a prequel to all the previous games, where our grizzled yakuza-with-a-heart-of-gold protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, is a bright-eyed 20-year-old, fresh into the game. Meanwhile, Goro Majima, the guy with the snake-skin jacket and the hot streak of insanity, is a suave and calculated owner of a cabaret. He actually wants to get back into the yakuza."
SEGA previously released Yakuza 5 for the PlayStation 3 to western gamers back in December 2015, three years after its Japanese debut.
Yakuza 6 release date confirmed, but when is it heading west?
The latest instalment in the multi-million selling action-RPG series, Yakuza 6, will hit Japan on December 8, 2016. Right now, it’s unknown when the game will arrive in the U.S. and Europe, although considering past games have made the transition to western shores, there’s a good chance this will too.
Despite this, a number of titles in the series have remained exclusive to Japan, such as Yakuza: Kenzan!, Yakuza: Ishin, and the PS3 and PS4 remake of the original title, Yakuza: Kiwami.