Like a Dragon: Gaiden English dub will arrive after launch, says Kiryu's voice actor

It looks like Like a Dragon: Gaiden won't have its English dub be available at launch.

That's according to Yong Yea, the English voice actor for protagonist Kazuma Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Gaiden. He confirmed on Twitter that the English dub won't be available for its November 9 launch in the game. Instead, it'll be coming via a post-launch update, the date of which has yet to be revealed.

On the plus side, it seems this won't be the case for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, launching next year on January 24. In a follow-up tweet, the actor relayed that English audio is checked on the game's Steam page, suggesting it'll have both Japanese and English dubs available at launch.

The lack of an English dub is fairly standard for the Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise. Since the PS2 original, the first game to properly feature an English dub was the spin-off title Judgment in 2018. In 2020, Yakuza: Like a Dragon - which pivoted the series to a new protagonist and turn-based combat - also featured an English dub at launch.

However, this will mark the first time that an English dub is being made available via a post-launch update. While many series fans default to the Japanese dub for a more authentic experience, it's certainly a shame for those who prefer the English dub or rely on such a feature to be able to better parse the narrative.

Hopefully, then, such players won't have to wait overly long for the English dub. Especially as Like a Dragon: Gaiden is one of the most anticipated upcoming games for longtime fans of the series and Kiryu's decades-long story arc.

The Yakuza games are typically among the best single-player games on the market. For more like it, consider checking out our guide to the best RPGs you can play in 2023.