Sony State of Play Showcase Headlined by Tekken 8, Yakuza Spin-off, and More

By Elijah Gonzalez | September 14, 2022 | 12:53pm

Image courtesy of PlayStation blog

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Sony State of Play Showcase Headlined by Tekken 8, Yakuza Spin-off, and More

Continuing a week filled with game announcements, Sony’s State of Play showcase officially revealed Tekken 8, a remake of the Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin!, and a new upcoming title from Team Ninja.

Tekken 8 kicked off the show with a dramatic brawl between Kazuya and Jin Kazama, which, according to the game’s director, Katsuhiro Harada, was not pre-rendered and was taken directly from its story mode. While details are scarce and a release window was not revealed, the continuation of the high-selling fighting gaming series is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It was first teased at EVO 2022 in August.

Later, Ryu Ga Gotoku revealed that they are remaking Like a Dragon: Ishin! a spin-off of the Yakuza series set in 1860s Japan. It will follow the historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma during the late Edo period, but its characters will share the likenesses of fan favorites from the Yakuza games. The original Ishin! came out in 2014 but was not released outside of Japan. The remake is the first game from RGG Studio that will use Unreal Engine 4, and it is planned for a Feb. 21, 2023 release.

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Following the State of Play showcase, RGG Studio also announced the next two entries in the Yakuza franchise. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will follow the story of Kiryu Kazama after the events of Yakuza 6 and will be an action-adventure game like older titles in the series. Additionally, the studio officially announced Like a Dragon 8, an RPG that will star Kiryu (who has a new haircut) as well as the protagonist of the previous game, Ichiban. Additionally, it appears that the Yakuza series will now be branded under the title “Like a Dragon” in English, bringing the naming of the games in line with the Japanese releases.

Getting back to the State of Play showcase, Team Ninja, the developers behind Ninja Gaiden and Nioh, announced their new game Rise of the Ronin. It is an action RPG set in late Edo Japan, which studio director and president, Fumihiko Yasuda, described as “the most ambitious and challenging project for Team Ninja Studio to date.” It is aimed at a 2024 release.

Beyond this, a pair of Playstation VR2 titles were shown with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Enhanced Edition, a port of the first-person action game, and Demeo, which seeks to simulate tabletop RPGs. The previously announced South Korean action game Project Eve was renamed Stellar Blade, and we got a glimpse of the title’s Matrix-esque futuristic city Xion, as well as the creatures that seem to threaten its existence. A new mech-based third-person shooter was announced in Synduality, set in a dystopian post-ecological disaster world. Pacific Drive was also revealed, and it will be a road-trip roguelike where players traverse by car through a supernatural vision of the Pacific Northwest. Lastly, the show closed with an eye-catching trailer for the highly anticipated God of War: Ragnarok, which is coming on Nov. 9, 2022.

The full showcase can be viewed below: