Like A Dragon boss rules out Akiyama spin-off
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Goro Majima might be getting his own Like A Dragon game this year, but don’t expect another fan favourite to get the same treatment. The Yakuza series, now known as Like A Dragon, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with its most extravagant entry yet.
![[Akiyama, Kiryu, Saejima and others in Yakuza 5]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236174258-0aaa.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Despite being a fan favourite character since the original, it’s only now Goro Majima is taking the wheel in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii. While he’s been present in every mainline entry, this is the first time the ferocious ‘mad dog’ has been the sole protagonist, after his joint-billing with Kazuma Kiryu in 2015’s Yakuza 0.
![[Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii screenshot]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236162930-3a66.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It feels like a long overdue move, but Yakuza/Like A Dragon is built on an ensemble of memorable (and sometimes playable) characters: including loveable brute Taiga Saejima, Kiryu’s adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura, and police detective Makoto Date.
After Majima, perhaps the most requested character for a dedicated spin-off is Shun Akiyama, who first appeared in Yakuza 4 as the suave owner of generous loan company Sky Finance. Since then, he’s appeared in Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6, and most recently in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, where he reunites with Kiryu in an optional side mission.
With Majima’s spin-off ticked off the list, the obvious question is whether we could see a game dedicated to Akiyama down the line. When we put this question to Like A Dragon producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, he was apologetic, as he quashed our dreams. ‘Sorry, no hope for an Akiyama spin-off,’ Sakamoto told GameCentral. ‘If we just made spin-offs, we’d never actually make the main stuff we want to make.’.
