Hannan Mundia 
Like a Dragon fans are anxiously awaiting the next big entry in the running series, but it might not be Yakuza Wars, as a new leak indicates that it’s an upcoming mobile game.
Sega’s Like a Dragon series, formerly known as the Yakuza series, is on a hot streak. From the various spin-off entries to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the games have garnered critical acclaim worldwide for their fun gameplay and an approach to the genre that manages to simultaneously be both serious and goofy.
The last mainline entry in the series came out in January 2024, and fans are already anticipating details on the next big Like a Dragon game. While some assumed the leaked Yakuza Wars name would fill that place in the series, that might not be the case.
Is Yakuza Wars a mobile game?
A convincing Facebook page leak suggests Yakuza Wars is a strategy mobile game as opposed to being the next big mainline Like a Dragon game.
Yakuza Wars was initially leaked when SEGA filed a trademark in Japan for the term “Yakuza Wars.” The filing was made on July 26, 2024, while the patent was released on August 5. Fans assumed it would be the next console entry in the series, likely pitting various factions from the around the franchise against each other.
However, a Facebook page of the same name as the game suggests Yakuza Wars is a strategy mobile game. The Facebook page has relatively few followers, but it has the SEGA logo on its cover image alongside Like a Dragon characters like fan-favorite Kiryu Kazuma and Goro Majima.
A full translation of the Facebook page intro reads:
“(Sega‘s) first officially licensed (Like a Dragon) mobile game is a brand new, classic (gangster-themed) masterpiece for mobile phones, creating innovative strategic war gameplay. Here, you can fight side by side with classic characters such as Kiryu Kazuma, Kasuga Ichiban, and Majima Goro, and write your own legendary story in the (Yakuza) underworld.”
In any other scenario, fans would pass such a small page off as something unaffiliated with Sega or the Like a Dragon series. However, the page’s creation date is July 17, more than a week before SEGA filed a trademark for the Yakuza Wars name and news of the filing leaked out. With that in mind, it’s hard to believe this Facebook page is anything but confirmation of Sega’s plans for a mobile release.
If that’s true, Yakuza Wars wouldn’t be the first mobile strategy game BBGames developed. The studio has also worked on a mobile adaptation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms alongside Koei Tecmo. This prior collaboration suggests the studio already has connections with Japanese video game developers, although neither BBGames nor Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have officially given any details about the proposed game.
Is Yakuza Wars actually Ryu Ga Gotoku Online?
Ryu Ga Gotoku Online, known as Yakuza Online, seems to be completely separate from Yakuza Wars.
The Like a Dragon series already has a mobile entry in the form of 2018’s RGG Online, which is a free-to-play collectible card game spin-off of the Yakuza series released in Japan for Android, iOS, and Windows.
The fact that Yakuza Wars might be a mobile game has some fans speculating whether it’s a Chinese localization of RGG Online. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. In addition to having a different art style, the upcoming game has a different developer according to its Facebook page. While a collectible card game would align with the Yakuza Wars Facebook page intro, developer BBGames typically works on MMO-style strategy mobile games.
