Controversial Move: Dragon Bundle Omits Series Creator and Key Developers from Credits

Recently, the Like a Dragon games have become available in a comprehensive bundle on the GOG storefront. However, fans have observed that the credits of these versions no longer include the series creator and other staff members. Unlike the previous titles released on Steam, the Like a Dragon series, previously known as the Yakuza series in the West, has been gradually ported to various platforms over the past few years. GOG, a PC-focused storefront also known as Good Old Games, has recently introduced the franchise to its platform.

The bundle, known as the Yakuza: Complete Series, encompasses all the games within the Kazuma Kiryu Saga, consisting of the first seven mainline games in the series. This includes the remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2 titled Kiwami, the prequel Yakuza 0, the HD remasters of Yakuza 3-5, and the final installment, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Curiosity arose among fans as to whether the versions released on GOG varied from the Steam ports. Besides the removal of DRM associated with GOG purchases, fans discovered that several staff members who contributed to the creation of the games were no longer acknowledged in the credits.

The r/yakuzagames subreddit user, u/Timo653, made an interesting discovery regarding the removal of certain names and companies from all seven games in the collection. Notable omissions include Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of Like a Dragon, producer Daisuke Sato, as well as Lab42 and QLOC, the companies involved in porting the games to Steam. Screenshots provided by the user clearly show a gap in the credits where the former director and producer's names used to be, among others.

It has been observed that these ports were directly taken from the Steam versions worked on by Lab42 and QLOC, in contrast to the Like a Dragon games available on the Microsoft store which underwent changes such as altered button prompts and censored Rising Sun imagery. In addition to removing the company names from the credits, adjustments have been made to the script files to disable the logos of these companies upon launching the GOG version. Many consider these changes to be disrespectful and unnecessary.

At the time of writing, the revised credits are currently only available in the GOG version of the games, whereas the Steam version accurately acknowledges the contributions of the staff members. Former employees who were involved in these versions have mentioned that they were not informed about these changes until now. In a forum post, one individual expressed their dedication to creating welcoming experiences for new players through their work on these versions. There is speculation among some that the removal of credits by Sega or RGG Studio may be linked to the departure of Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato from Sega in 2021, although this hypothesis is largely conjecture.