Stranger Than Heaven
Developer RGG Studio
Publisher Sega
Director Mikinobu Abe
Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto
Series Like a Dragon
Platforms
  • PlayStation 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X/S
Release January 15, 2027
Genre Action-adventure
Mode Single-player

Stranger Than Heaven is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by RGG Studio and published by Sega. A distant prequel to the Like a Dragon franchise, the game depicts the journey of Makoto Daito, a Japanese-American outcast who finds a new life in Japan, spanning over the course of 50 years. The game is set to be released for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S on January 15, 2027.

Gameplay

Stranger Than Heaven features a third-person perspective with a focus on action and combat.[1] Players control the protagonist Makoto Daito and explore five different locales in five different eras. In combat scenarios, Makoto's left and right sides can be controlled independently, allowing players to perform punches or kicks using buttons on the corresponding side. Makoto can also utilize a variety of weapons which can be upgraded further.[2]

Music plays a major role in Stranger Than Heaven's gameplay system; as Makoto navigates the environments surrounding him, he can pick up various sounds and "save" them as "recordings"; later, Makoto may encounter composers, allowing him to use the collected sounds to create original compositions. The game also incorporates management activities, in which Makoto must take on the role of a showman and organize different musical shows, including picking out musicians to participate, recruiting them on the street, and placing advertisements for the shows.[2]

Premise

Stranger Than Heaven takes place in five different districts in Japan across five different eras: Kokura, Fukuoka in 1915; Kure, Hiroshima in 1929; Minami, Osaka in 1943; Atami, Shizuoka in 1951; and Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1965.[3][4] The game follows Makoto Daito (Yu Shirota), a Japanese-American orphan who stows away on a ship from San Francisco to Japan, hoping to start a new life. Stranger Than Heaven also depicts the origin of the yakuza organization Tojo Clan, prominently featured throughout the Like a Dragon series, of which Makoto becomes the eventual founder.[4]

The game features a diverse cast of both Japanese and American characters, including: Yu Shinjo (Dean Fujioka), Makoto's best friend and rival who is also of mixed heritage; Orpheus (Snoop Dogg), a smuggler who takes up Makoto as his disciple; Takashi (Satoshi Fujihara), a young yakuza member with a penchant for music who serves as Makoto's assistant; and Suzy Day (Tori Kelly), a singer from overseas looking to make a career in Japan. Other major characters include: Tae Matsumoto (Moeka Hoshi), Heigo Yashima (Akio Otsuka), Kiyoshi Otsuru (Tokuma Nishioka), The Veiled Stranger (Cordell Broadus), Keiko Shirai (Ado), Genzo Iwaki (Bunta Sugawara/Takashi Ukaji),[a][3][5] Tadashi Hataoka (Takashi Ukaji), Takeo Godai (Takaya Kuroda), Suekichi (Kouhei Tsuji), Tetsuya Hama (Yasukaze Motomiya), and Amaru (Tupac Shakur).[b][6]

Development

In an 2021 interview with Famitsu, it was reported that RGG Studio was working on a new IP separate from the Yakuza / Like a Dragon and Judgment series.[7]

Stranger Than Heaven was announced at the Game Awards 2024 under the code name Project Century.[8] In June 2025, the official title of the game was revealed.[9]

Developers from RGG Studio discussed the game in details for the first time in May 2026, as part of a presentation in collaboration with Xbox.[2] During a follow-up livestream, studio head and executive director Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that he announced Project Century in 2024 as he was impressed by the work on the Kokura level, which only took about two to three months to finish and had been completed by that point. Despite having narrative ties to the Like a Dragon series, Yokoyama clarified that the game is not meant to depict the past of that series, and will not feature younger iterations of certain Like a Dragon characters, or require knowledge of the series in order to play.[10]

Stranger Than Heaven features a mixed voice cast of Japanese and American actors, including musicians Snoop Dogg, Tori Kelly, Ado and Satoshi Fujihara of the band Official Hige Dandism; all four artists perform the main theme song of the game, "Stranger Than Heaven", in addition to portraying their characters.[11] The likenesses of late actor Bunta Sugawara and rapper Tupac Shakur are featured in the game, with permission from their respective estates; Sugawara's character Genzo Iwaki is voiced by Takashi Ukaji, while a voice actor for Shakur's character has not yet been named.[12][6] The appearance of Ado's character, Keiko Shirai, was stated to be an original design, with supervision and approval from Ado's representatives, in an effort to maintain the singer's secret identity; Yokoyama added that any resemblance between Ado and her character would be purely coincidental.[10]

In contrast with recent RGG Studio titles which feature separate audio tracks for Japanese and English voiceover, Stranger Than Heaven uses only one audio track with both languages being used, dependent on the setting, background, and context of each scenario. According to Yokoyama, this was done to preserve the authenticity of the game world, reflecting the characters' origins and language fluency.[13]

Release

Stranger Than Heaven is set to release for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S on January 15, 2027.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Sugawara's likeness is used to depict Iwaki, while Ukaji voices the character.
  2. ^ Shakur's likeness is used to depict Amaru, while a yet-to-be-named actor voices the character.

References

  1. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (June 6, 2025). "RGG Studio's Project Century Formally Unveiled As Stranger Than Heaven In New Trailer". Game Informer. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Partis, Danielle (May 6, 2026). "Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven – Everything We Learned (Including Snoop Dogg's Role!)". Xbox. Archived from the original on May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Kemps, Heidi (May 6, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven Is A Yakuza Prequel With A Star-Studded Cast". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  4. ^ a b Park, Morgan (May 6, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven sure looks like a Yakuza series prequel in its first 30-minute deep dive, oh and Snoop Dogg is here". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  5. ^ Pineda, Rafael (May 6, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven Game Reveals Story, Gameplay, Cast, Winter Launch". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c Kemps, Heidi (June 5, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven Gets Even Stranger With The Addition Of A Very Alive Tupac". GameSpot. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  7. ^ Kiya, Andrew (November 17, 2021). "Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Is Working on a New IP". Siliconera. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  8. ^ Valentine, Rebekah; Dinsdale, Ryan (December 12, 2024). "Yakuza / Like a Dragon Dev RGG Studio Announces Project Century - The Game Awards 2024". IGN. Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Kemps, Heidi (June 6, 2025). "Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Project Century Gets A Strange New Title". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 12, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "『ストレンジャー ザン ヘヴン』神室町はあるが『龍が如く』との直接的なつながりはない。デザイナーが優秀すぎて小倉ステージが2～3ヵ月で上がってきた、だから急に発表した【制作裏話】" (in Japanese). Famitsu. May 7, 2026. Archived from the original on May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  11. ^ Saponara, Michael (July 5, 2026). "Snoop Dogg, Tori Kelly Craft 'Stranger Than Heaven' Theme Song & Voice Characters in New Game". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  12. ^ Ashraf, Amirul (May 6, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven To Feature Posthumous Appearance Of Bunta Sugawara". Gamermatters.com. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  13. ^ Joshua, Orpheus (May 7, 2026). "Stranger Than Heaven Uses Unified Multilingual Voice Track". Noisypixels.net. Archived from the original on May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 7, 2026.