RGG Studio’s director says the good thing about Sega is that they go beyond “safe” game projects, accepting the possibility of failure 

Despite having Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O lined up for the beginning of 2025, Sega’s RGG Studio announced at TGS 2024 that it has two other big projects in the works. 

First off, RGG Studio will be delivering the first full Virtua Fighter game in over ten years. In addition, the developer announced the mysterious Project Century, which is set in 1915 Japan and appears to be a new IP with no confirmed connections to the Like a Dragon series (although fans are coming up with various theories). 

Given how closely RGG Studio is associated with the Like a Dragon universe, these two announcements come as a big surprise. In a recent interview with Famitsu, RGG Studio’s director Masayoshi Yokoyama talked about why they were able to take on these ambitious new challenges. 

“Up until now, RGG Studio has released games that go beyond everyone’s expectations but are within the framework of the [Yakuza] series – such as switching to the RPG genre and the like. However, from now on, we will be entering fields that ignore that existing framework,” Yokoyama explained. 

“One such example is the brand-new Virtua Fighter title we’re making from scratch, and another is Project Century. I feel very excited about these new challenges, but I also feel some anxiety about them.” RGG Studio’s leader goes on to suggest that the studio is benefiting from Sega’s accepting policy towards risk-taking. “I think a good aspect of Sega is that it accepts the possibility of failure. It doesn’t just keep pursuing the kind of projects it knows are a safe bet.” 

Jokingly, Yokoyama says that this mindset is what led to “something like Shenmue” being created in the Dreamcast era. “You could say that is Sega’s DNA. I mean, they weren’t satisfied with simply continuing to make the usual Virtua Fighter games, and decided to turn it into an RPG, resulting in Shenmue.” According to Yokoyama, RGG Studio is now doing something similar to Shenmue, although only in spirit. 

Although Yokoyama seems grateful that “Sega’s DNA” allows for experimentation, he also adds, “I think RGG Studio is the only developer at Sega right now that can take on such challenges.” He hopes fans will look forward to the bold new projects they’re undertaking.