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Stranger Than Heaven is made by RGG Studio (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio), SEGA's in-house team behind Like a Dragon (Yakuza) and Judgment, led since October 2021 by Masayoshi Yokoyama. SEGA publishes it on Jan 15, 2027.
Stranger Than Heaven is made by RGG Studio (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio), the SEGA team that created the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series, and SEGA publishes it on Jan 15, 2027. The studio was founded in 2011 inside SEGA, has been run by Masayoshi Yokoyama since October 2021, when founder Toshihiro Nagoshi left, and is credited on Steam as the game's developer. Stranger Than Heaven is the studio's first new world in years: GamesRadar+ called the Project Century reveal RGG's first new IP in 6 years. The clip is the end of the Project Century trailer from The Game Awards 2024, with RGG Studio's logo and the Project Century title.
Quick facts
| Full name | Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, written "RGG Studio" on recent Steam pages |
| Inside SEGA | SEGA's 1st Development Division |
| Founded | 2011 (launch announced Aug 31, 2011) |
| Head | Masayoshi Yokoyama, since October 2021 |
| Founder | Toshihiro Nagoshi, left SEGA in 2021 |
| Staff | About 300 in total (2025) |
| Office | Tokyo |
| Series | Like a Dragon (Yakuza), Judgment, Super Monkey Ball |
| Current game | Stranger Than Heaven, Jan 15, 2027 |
Sources: AUTOMATON, Oct 8, 2021; RPG Site, Oct 8, 2021; AUTOMATON, May 27, 2025; Game Informer, Nov 24, 2022; Steam: Stranger Than Heaven, Nov 3, 2026.
Who made Stranger Than Heaven?
RGG Studio developed it and SEGA publishes it, as on every game in the Like a Dragon series. Steam lists RGG Studio as developer and SEGA as publisher. Yokoyama is credited as RGG Studio Head and Executive Director of the game. The main credits named so far:
| Role | Person |
|---|---|
| RGG Studio Head, Executive Director | Masayoshi Yokoyama |
| Director | Mikinobu Abe |
| Producer | Hiroyuki Sakamoto |
| Chief Director | Ryosuke Horii |
| Art Director | Daishi Kanaya |
| Associate Director | Yasuaki Uehara |
| Production Manager | Masaya Santo |
| Lead Programmer | Tomoaki Nakamura |
| Lead Designer | Kenta Yasuda |
Sources: Xbox Wire, May 6, 2026; RPG Site, Oct 12, 2026. AUTOMATON's TGS 2026 interview spells the art director's given name Taishi; the table follows SEGA's interview videos as RPG Site lists them.
No composer, sound director or engine for the game had been named as of Nov 3, 2026. How the team got from Project Century to a release date is on Development.
When was RGG Studio founded?
In 2011. AUTOMATON describes it as founded that year within SEGA's CS Research and Development No. 1 division, and at the studio's 10th anniversary Yokoyama recalled its launch announcement on Aug 31 ten years before. The series itself is older: the first Yakuza came out in 2005, and RGG's Japanese site says it began as games that adults tired of games could enjoy. "Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio" is a nickname: the studio's official name inside the company is SEGA's First Development Division.
Nagoshi's departure and Yokoyama's studio
On Oct 8, 2021 SEGA announced that Toshihiro Nagoshi, the series' creator, and studio producer Daisuke Sato were leaving. Nagoshi had joined SEGA in 1989 and said he was also leaving his position as the head of the studio. Yokoyama, the series' longtime writer, took over as Studio Director and Executive Producer, and Hiroyuki Sakamoto, Ryosuke Horii, Yutaka Ito and Nobuaki Mitake stayed on.
Nagoshi set up Nagoshi Studio under NetEase in January 2022. It showed one game, Gang of Dragon, and was dissolved as of Oct 31, 2026, per a notice in Japan's Official Gazette. Stranger Than Heaven is the first new world made under Yokoyama's leadership.
How big is RGG Studio?
About 300 people in total, who rotate across projects. Yokoyama said a Like a Dragon game's team peaks at roughly 70 to 80 people, about the same as on the first game in 2005. Technical director Yutaka Ito said its programmers work in one team on new games, ports and remasters, one person sometimes on 3 or 4 titles; in mid 2025 those included Stranger Than Heaven, then still called Project Century. The team dedicated to Super Monkey Ball is the one exception to staff moving between series.
What games has RGG Studio made?
Mainly the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series, from the first Yakuza in 2005 to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties in February 2026, plus the Judgment detective games and Super Monkey Ball. The series has also visited earlier Japan twice: Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! (2008) and Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! (2014), remade as Like a Dragon: Ishin! in 2023. The full list with dates is Like a Dragon Games in Order.
The series was renamed "Like a Dragon" in the West at RGG Summit in 2022, matching the Japanese Ryu ga Gotoku; Yokoyama said the games are not talking about Yakuza, really. SEGA's best-selling recent entries are Yakuza: Like a Dragon at 3.12 million and Infinite Wealth at 2.05 million as of SEGA Sammy's June 2026 management meeting.
Beyond the series, the studio is working on a new Virtua Fighter project, which AUTOMATON listed among its active projects in 2025. No new mainline Like a Dragon game had been announced as of Nov 3, 2026.
Where Stranger Than Heaven fits
It sits in the Like a Dragon world without being a numbered entry. Yokoyama told Game Informer it will "differ entirely in both scale and gameplay" from the series, and at TGS 2026 said RGG makes it as a completely new title, though the Tojo Clan and Kamurocho appear. Both sides of that question are on Is Stranger Than Heaven a Yakuza Game?. In the clip, director Mikinobu Abe tells IGN at Gamescom 2026 that the team sees it as a brand new game rather than a prequel.
For SEGA it is a lead release: its May 2026 results named it as one of four major releases behind a projected 41.8% rise in revenue for the year to March 2027, and in September it became RGG Studio's most wishlisted title before launch (see Wishlists and Popularity). Yokoyama has said the results of new genres and settings like this one may influence the mainline series in a few years.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the developer of Stranger Than Heaven? RGG Studio (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio), SEGA's in-house team behind Like a Dragon (Yakuza) and Judgment. SEGA publishes Stranger Than Heaven on Jan 15, 2027.
Is Stranger Than Heaven made by the Yakuza team? Yes. Stranger Than Heaven comes from the same studio and is led by Masayoshi Yokoyama, the series' longtime writer and RGG Studio's head since 2021, with director Mikinobu Abe.
Did Toshihiro Nagoshi work on Stranger Than Heaven? No source credits him. Nagoshi left SEGA in October 2021, and Stranger Than Heaven was first shown, as Project Century, in December 2024 under Yokoyama's leadership.
Is Stranger Than Heaven a new IP? SEGA calls Stranger Than Heaven a brand-new title from RGG Studio, its first new world in years, though it shares the Like a Dragon setting and shows the founding of the Tojo Clan.
How many people work at RGG Studio? About 300 in total as of 2025, by AUTOMATON's report of Yokoyama's interview; a single Like a Dragon game peaks at roughly 70 to 80 people. No team size has been given for Stranger Than Heaven.
Sources
- Yakuza series' Nagoshi is leaving Sega & Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio will restructure, AUTOMATON, Oct 8, 2021
- Sega's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announces staff and structural changes as it enters its 10th anniversary, RPG Site, Oct 8, 2021
- Nagoshi Studio established under Chinese tech giant NetEase, AUTOMATON, Jan 24, 2022
- Yakuza Studio Boss Explains Why the Series' Western Name Has Changed to Like a Dragon, GamingBolt, Sep 18, 2022
- The Future of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Game Informer, Nov 24, 2022
- Like a Dragon studio RGG reveals its first new IP in 6 years, GamesRadar+, Dec 13, 2024
- Like a Dragon's dev team size has barely changed since the first game, according to RGG Studio head, AUTOMATON, May 27, 2025
- Like a Dragon's devs get spooked looks from industry peers when they say they juggle up to 3-4 titles simultaneously with one team, AUTOMATON, Aug 4, 2025
- The Like a Dragon series still can't be called mainstream in the West, AUTOMATON, Dec 2, 2025
- Unlike A Dragon, Game Informer, Jan 27, 2026
- Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven, Everything We Learned, Xbox Wire, May 6, 2026
- Sega's full-price game revenue was down 12% in the past fiscal year, AUTOMATON, May 12, 2026
- SEGA Reveals Updated Game Sales Figures, Final Weapon, Jun 22, 2026
- Sega shares Stranger Than Heaven Gamescom demo playthrough and interview video with Masayoshi Yokoyama, RPG Site, Aug 28, 2026
- STRANGER THAN HEAVEN Surpasses 1 Million Wishlists, SEGA, Sep 3, 2026
- Stranger Than Heaven developers talk about breaking away from action game conventions, why it isn't a Like a Dragon entry, AUTOMATON, Sep 29, 2026
- Sega shares five Stranger Than Heaven Developer Interview videos, RPG Site, Oct 12, 2026
- Nagoshi Studio officially dissolved as of October 31, AUTOMATON, Nov 2, 2026
- Ryu ga Gotoku official site, RGG Studio
- Stranger Than Heaven, Steam
- Project Century World Premiere Trailer from The Game Awards 2024, thegameawards, Dec 13, 2024 (video)
- How Stranger Than Heaven's Brutal Combat Borrows From Classic Yakuza Cinema | gamescom2026, IGN, Aug 29, 2026 (video)
Moments
Project Century World Premiere Trailer from The Game Awards 2024
thegameawards
How Stranger Than Heaven's Brutal Combat Borrows From Classic Yakuza Cinema | gamescom2026
IGN
Related
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Characters and CastStranger Than Heaven's official cast page credits 17 characters to the people who portray them, led by Yu Shirota as the hero Makoto Daito, with Dean Fujioka, Snoop Dogg, Ado, Tori Kelly, the late Bunta Sugawara in CG and Tupac as Amaru. No separate English voice cast has been published as of Nov 3, 2026.
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Genzo IwakiGenzo Iwaki is the big boss of Kure in Stranger Than Heaven, head of the Iwaki Family that Makoto Daito joins in 1929. He is portrayed by the late actor Bunta Sugawara, made in CG from archival footage with his family's consent and Toei's materials, and voiced by Takashi Ukaji.
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Keiko ShiraiAdo plays Keiko Shirai in Stranger Than Heaven, the diva of wartime Osaka in the 1943 Minami chapter, and both voices her and sings her era's songs. Ado is also one of the four singers on the game's theme song.
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Makoto DaitoMakoto Daito is the hero of Stranger Than Heaven, the son of an American father and a Japanese mother who flees San Francisco for Japan in 1915 and, over fifty years, becomes a yakuza known as the Red Oni and a showman. He is portrayed by Yu Shirota.
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OrpheusSnoop Dogg plays Orpheus in Stranger Than Heaven, a globe-trotting smuggler who finds Makoto Daito stowed away on a ship in 1915, takes him to Japan and spots his musical talent. Snoop Dogg also sings on the theme song, and his son Cordell Broadus plays the Veiled Stranger.
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Suzy DayTori Kelly plays Suzy Day in Stranger Than Heaven, a talented singer who dreams of making it big and whose rise in show business begins when she meets Makoto Daito in the Shizuoka segment. Kelly also co-wrote and sings the theme song.
- Takeo GodaiTakaya Kuroda, the Japanese voice of Kazuma Kiryu, plays Takeo Godai in Stranger Than Heaven, a skilled craftsman and a man of few words. Godai is a new character, not Kiryu, and his era and role had not been shown as of Nov 3, 2026.
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Tupac Shakur as AmaruSEGA says Tupac plays Amaru in Stranger Than Heaven, "a man living in hiding in Japan," a CG character RGG Studio built from archival footage and photographs with the permission and supervision of his estate, Amaru Entertainment, and without the use of AI. Amaru's voice, era and role had not been announced as of Nov 3, 2026.
See also
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Masayoshi YokoyamaMasayoshi Yokoyama is the head of RGG Studio and the executive director of Stranger Than Heaven, a longtime writer of the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series who took over the studio in October 2021. The game's director is Mikinobu Abe.
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DevelopmentStranger Than Heaven was in development at RGG Studio for 6 to 7 years, began as a planned trilogy, was revealed as Project Century in December 2024 and renamed in June 2025, and uses no generative AI, according to RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama.
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Like a Dragon Games in OrderThe Like a Dragon (Yakuza) games in release order, from Yakuza (2005) to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (2026), with the Judgment spin-offs; Stranger Than Heaven, out Jan 15, 2027, is RGG Studio's next game, set in the same world but not a numbered entry.
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- Wishlists and PopularityStranger Than Heaven passed 1 million wishlists across all platforms in early September 2026, which SEGA calls RGG Studio's most wishlisted title of all time before launch. SEGA also names it a flagship release for its fiscal year to March 2027.
- Netflix MovieSEGA and Netflix announced a live-action Stranger Than Heaven film on Sep 14, 2026, produced by SEGA head producer Toru Nakahara. As of Nov 3, 2026 no director, writer, cast or release date has been named.