The Yakuza series sold over 2.9 million units during the past financial year. Sega Sammy Holdings (owners of the Yakuza IP) published its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 2022, capping off a year of change and growth for the Japanese publisher. The company reported net sales of ¥320.9bn, an increase of 15.6%. Operating income grew 392% to ¥32bn, and ordinary income skyrocketed 1,858% to ¥33.3bn.
The Yakuza series (which includes the Judgement titles) was the second best-selling franchise for Sega Sammy as outlined in the report. Naturally, the Sonic series holds the crown, with 5.8 million units sold. The Total War series and the Persona series sold 2.6 million units and 1.3 million units respectively. Although Sega Sammy has not released recent total sales numbers for the Yakuza IP, in November 2020, the company’s Integrated Report listed the lifetime number at over 14 million units sold.
Since its debut in 2006, the Yakuza series has spawned a dozen entries, including remakes and remasters. Back in April, Masayoshi Yokoyama, current producer of the Yakuza franchise, shared updates on the highly-anticipated Yakuza 8 at this year’s NicoNico Chokaigi festival. Although Yokoyama could not provide a release date, he said that production is going well and that some actors have even begun recording their lines. This is a great sign for Yakuza fans as recording dialogue typically happens towards the end of production.
Sega announced Yakuza 8 back in 2020 but has since provided very few details. However, according to Yokoyama, the game will retain its turn-based JRPG battle system, and Ichiban will still be the protagonist.
