‘Yakuza Kiwami’ finally has a Nintendo Switch release date

It says a lot about the state of games right now that more people are excited for an eight-year-old remake of a game to come out on the Nintendo Switch than they are about anything in PlayStation’s State of Play from earlier this year—except for Astro Bot, of course.

But such is the enduring power of the Nintendo Switch, even this late into its life cycle. Today’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase was a little underwhelming, but that’s okay, considering the first-party Direct earlier this summer was nothing short of mind-blowing. And there’s still plenty to talk about. Namely, that the beloved Yakuza series is finally coming to the Switch, for the first time ever.

The game chosen to do the honors is Yakuza Kiwami, the 2016 remake of the very first Yakuza game from 2005. Yes, a game released simultaneously for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 is coming to the Switch, and that’s making headlines.

But both the timing and the choice of game feel incredibly deliberate.

A helluva tie-in

Yakuza Kiwami drops on the Nintendo Switch on October 24, 2024. If that date is already in your Yakuza fandom calendar, it’s because that’s the exact same day that Like a Dragon: Yakuza, the live action TV adaptation, drops on Amazon Prime.

The genius of the tie-in goes a step further, because Like a Dragon: Yakuza is an adaptation of Yakuza Kiwami. So both the timing and the choice of game were quite the savvy move from SEGA.

Yakuza Kiwami, originally released in 2005 as Yakuza, served as our introduction to series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. The game follows Kiryu upon his release from a 10-year stint in prison, which resulted from him taking the fall for the murder of a yakuza boss. As such, the game takes place in two timelines, in 1995 and 2005.

It’s not the origins of Kiryu’s story—that would be Yakuza 0, a prequel which came out chronologically later in the series. But Kiwami is the origin of the Yakuza series as a whole. It also boasts a ton of improvements from the original Yakuza release, including an expanded story, more nightlife spots (which any Yakuza fan can tell you is the heart of these games), and a fighting style which borrows from the improvements made in Yakuza 0.

In short, October 24, 2024 is going to be a huge day for Yakuza fans. With the dual release of the Yakuza series on a new console and a live action TV drama, hopefully it’ll be a big day for welcoming some new fans, too.