The demo for PS4 exclusive Yakuza 6: The Song of  Life is headed back to PSN, according to its developers. A demo was previously released, but had to be taken down when it was found it allowed users to download the full game and not just a trial version.

Yakuza 6:The Song of Life's developers at Sega posted the update via the Yakuza Twitter page just a few days ago, stating the demo will be released early this week. This means fans of the series that are eager to give the newest installment a try won't have to wait long. They also confirmed that any save files from the demo will carry over to the full game when it comes out next month.

The Yakuza series, while popular in Japan and enjoyed by critics worldwide, has never really seen much mainstream success with Western audiences. It has been more of a niche title with a sort of cult following outside of Japan. The first game was released all the way back on PS2 and the series has remained a Playstation exclusive since.

The games, often dubbed the "Japanese Grand Theft Auto", revolve around the Japanese crime syndicate of the same name. Yakuza differs itself by focusing more on melee combat, as opposed to the gunplay the GTA series primarily uses for combat. Both games are similar in the way they offer plenty of minigames and side missions should gamers want to take a break from the main story. The Yakuza games have usually revolved around a central cast of characters, with some of the games having multiple playable protagonists.

The last numbered entry (unless you count Yakuza 0) in the series was Yakuza 5, which was released in Japan back in December of 2012 and the following year for Western audiences on the PS3. There have been more recent entries in the series, such as previously mentioned Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. Yakuza 0 was a prequel title, while Yakuza Kiwami was a PS4 remake of the original PS2 title. Fans of the series may be interested to know that there are rumors that Yakuza Kiwami 2 may be on the way, as well.

 

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will release exclusively for PS4 on April 17th.