Summary
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth sold a million copies in its opening week, making it the fastest-selling title in the series.
- The game has also received critical acclaim, currently boasting an aggregate review score of 89 on Metacritic.
- Infinite Wealth's success appears to stem from an amalgamation of factors, including some widely praised gameplay improvements and Sega's ramped-up marketing efforts.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has sold a million copies in its opening week, Sega has announced. This achievement makes Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth the fastest-selling title in the long-running series.
Originally started in 2005, the Like a Dragon franchise has so far produced 23 games. But the English versions of most of those titles were released under the old Yakuza moniker, which Sega eventually changed to Like a Dragon in 2022 in order to bring the series' Western name in line with its Eastern moniker, Ryu Ga Gotoku. And while it wasn't that long ago that the publisher insisted the Like a Dragon franchise remains a niche offering, its latest consolidated financial report revealed that the series surpassed 21 million in lifetime sales as of 2023.
The latest installment has continued that commercial momentum, with Sega just revealing that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth achieved a million sales during its launch week. Describing that figure as an improvement over the last mainline entry would be an understatement, as Yakuza: Like a Dragon was recently confirmed to be sitting at 1.8 million lifetime sales as of late 2023, three years since its release. Going by the series' historical sales data and this newly reported milestone, it is possible that Infinite Wealth could surpass that figure before its first anniversary.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Launch Sales Matched Its Critical Reception
Apart from boasting the title of the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is also currently one of the best-rated games of 2024. Its aggregate review score on Metacritic presently sits at 89, making it the third highest-rated game of the year, behind Tekken 8 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. The hit game shares that ranking with Persona 3 Reload, another one of Sega's RPGs that released on February 2.
Like a Dragon Mainline Games Lifetime Sales
|
Game |
Global Release |
Lifetime Sales |
Last Sales Update |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yakuza |
September 5, 2006 |
1.5 million |
December 2013 (including Kiwami remake) |
|
Yakuza 2 |
September 9, 2008 |
1.3 million |
June 2019 (including Kiwami remake) |
|
Yakuza 3 |
March 9, 2010 |
800,000 |
June 2011 |
|
Yakuza 4 |
March 15, 2011 |
500,000 |
September 2011 |
|
Yakuza 5 |
December 8, 2015 |
700,000 |
December 2016 |
|
Yakuza 0 |
January 24, 2017 |
2 million |
December 2017 |
|
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life |
April 17, 2018 |
1 million |
June 2019 |
|
Yakuza: Like a Dragon |
November 10, 2020 |
1.8 million |
December 2023 |
|
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth |
January 26, 2024 |
1 million |
February 2024 |
The game's strong critical reception undoubtedly helped its early commercial momentum, but Sega's intensified marketing efforts evident in the RPG's strong trade show presence also likely contributed to its success. Moreover, while the English version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon was months behind the Japanese release, the 2023 Like a Dragon: Ishin remake and Infinite Wealth have both been treated to simultaneous global launches. Infinite Wealth also improved on the Yakuza: Like a Dragon difficulty curve, making the game much more accessible, a fact that was not lost on reviewers.
The massively successful launch of Infinite Wealth is even more impressive in light of the fact that this was the first entry in the franchise to debut at a $69.99 price point, a $10 increase compared to the previous installments. And while time will tell where the series goes from here, what's already evident is that Like a Dragon has now firmly established itself as one of Sega's flagship franchises with mainstream appeal.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Released
- January 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
EPIC EMOTIONAL DRAMA
Two larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister…
Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.
BEST-IN-CLASS RPG ACTION
Experience one-of-a-kind combat with dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles where the battlefield becomes your weapon, and anything goes. Adapt your party’s skills to the situation with outlandish jobs and customizations to strategically subdue enemies with over-the-top moves.
INFINITE ADVENTURE
Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an adventure so big it spans the Pacific. Unforgettable moments await at every step of the journey with a unique mix of quests and activities to enjoy at your leisure.
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Franchise
- Yakuza
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 60 Hours
