It wasn’t too long ago that a PC release for a big console release was an extra treat. The line in the sand between the two platforms was thick. In addition, you often had to worry about buggy and nonfunctional ports. Nowadays, with consoles creeping ever closer to PC standards, it’s a rarity not to have the option to play on your computer. Even amongst Japanese publishers, who have been traditionally slow to adopt this new paradigm, this is becoming the norm. Enter the news today that the Yakuza Kiwami PC release will come sooner rather than later.
Seen via updates on unofficial Steam tracker SteamDB, Twitter user Andrew Marmo picked up on the information. SteamDB tracks changes and additions on Steam’s backend. While Yakuza Kiwami has been announced for PC since E3, an exact release date hasn’t been revealed. Due to recent updates to the game data, it’s clear that devs are putting the finishing touches on the PC port before its inevitable release.
Looks like Yakuza Kiwami port coming very soon (shadow drop) going by these latest package updates! pic.twitter.com/xQDVPtrgdV
— Andrew Marmo (@the_marmolade) November 25, 2018
This isn’t the first of Sega’s Japanese brawlers to come to PC. Yakuza Zero premiered back in August with a well-received port. It also makes sense that you’d start here, as Zero serves as a prequel to the entire series. The next game in order is Kiwami, which is a remake of the original Yakuza from the PS2 days. Sequel remake Yakuza Kiwami 2 has already released on PS4 and 3-5 are getting PS4 remasters. One can assume that the series will continue to get PC ports at a regular rate.
So, will we see Yakuza Kiwami PC premiere at the upcoming Game Awards? Perhaps Sega will drop it as a surprise during Steam’s annual sale this Winter? Either way, it’s clear that gamers won’t have to wait long to jump into the early days of Kazuma Kiryu’s entanglements with organized crime.
