Sega has announced Judgment is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Stadia, but there’s no mention of a PC version.
The Yakuza spin-off, which first came out as a PlayStation 4-exclusive back in 2019, launches on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Stadia on 23rd April 2021 with “refined visuals”, 60fps, improved load times and all the previously-released DLC. The new trailer is below:
The announcement of the game for Stadia and not PC has certainly raised eyebrows, coming as it does hot on the heels of Google’s own announcement that it is shutting down its internal Stadia studios and offering its streaming tech to publishers.
There are a number of unanswered questions with this release. Is the Stadia deal indefinite, or is it a timed exclusive, indicating a PC release will follow at some point? Is there cross-buy between the PS4 and PS5 versions? Cross-save? We’ve asked Sega.
Judgment, from Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, offers a detective’s perspective on Kamurocho. As Martin wrote in our Judgment review, “… despite what initial details might suggest, this isn’t the best place to start if you want to get into Yakuza – and, if you’re more familiar with the series, this is more a slight curio than any indication of where the future output of the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio lies. Maybe you’ll find clues nestled deep within Judgment, which on its own merits is still a fine video game. It’s just that, for the first time in a while, here’s a game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio that feels eminently skippable.”
