Yakuza 3 Remastered to be delisted

Something about SEGA is slightly annoying me right now. I love their games to bits; Yakuza, Sonic, Football Manager, Persona, Two Point games, Total War, Super Monkey Ball, Company of Heroes, and of course, Alien: Isolation, to name a few. That said, some of the decisions recently have been more than annoying. I’ve been convincing enough to get David interested in trying out Football Manager, with my suggestion that FM24 would have been a great starting point… However, that was quietly removed in November after the release of FM26. Now it seems SEGA is doing the same with Yakuza, again.

The release of “Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties” is now less than one month away. Everyone at the studio has poured their hearts into creating this title, and we are truly looking forward to the day everybody can finally play it.

We would also like to express our deep gratitude for… pic.twitter.com/cog9G09chu

— RGG Studio | Like a Dragon & Yakuza Series (@RGGStudio) January 16, 2026

As stated on the cesspool of scum and villainy known as Twitter in a former life (X if you are scum and/or villainy) by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Yakuza 3 Kiwami & Dark Ties will release just next month. However, as a result, you’ll no longer be able to buy the original remastered version of Yakuza 3 for PC as a standalone purchase. The Tweet reads, “Those who already own Yakuza 3 Remastered will still be able to continue playing it. For those new to the series who wish to experience the original version, it will be available with [the] purchase of the ‘Yakuza Complete Series’ bundle.“

This isn’t the first time this has happened with Yakuza in recent memory, either. Back in December of 2025, there was a near 50/50 split of reviews for the Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut. Meanwhile, Yakuza 0 as well as Kiwami 1 & 2 (Legacy) have been delisted too, also to a lot of disapproval of fans across the board.

The tweet also noted, “We would also like to express our deep gratitude for the warm support and respectful feedback we receive from communities around the world. While we may not be able to reply to every comment individually, please know that we hear all of your voices.“

Continuing: “We place great importance on staying faithful to our creative direction, and we hope you will enjoy the completely new experiences we have envisioned for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.“

Honestly, I could understand the point if there was a licensing issue, but last I knew, Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1 & 2, or 3 wouldn’t have such problems. It goes back to Alexx’s points on game preservation and the general opinion on this, that removing the ability to access the original does nothing good. More to the point, it means we can’t see the mistakes of previous generations of gaming as easily, so we’ll just repeat ourselves eventually.

Yakuza 3 Remastered is currently $19.99, €19.99, or £15.99 until the delisting, or $129.13, €129.13, or £107.09 for the complete series right now. There is no specific date for the delisting, though one might assume it would be around the 11th of February, when Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties releases.