Akiyama is no leading man, apparently (Sega)Goro Majima might be getting his own Like A Dragon game this year, but dont expect another fan favourite to get the same treatment.The Yakuza series, now known as Like A Dragon, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with its most extravagant entry yet.Despite being a fan favourite character since the original, its only now Goro Majima is taking the wheel in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii. While hes been present in every mainline entry, this is the first time the ferocious mad dog has been the sole protagonist, after his joint-billing with Kazuma Kiryu in 2015s Yakuza 0.It feels like a long overdue move, but Yakuza/Like A Dragon is built on an ensemble of memorable (and sometimes playable) characters: including loveable brute Taiga Saejima, Kiryus adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura, and police detective Makoto Date.After Majima, perhaps the most requested character for a dedicated spin-off is Shun Akiyama, who first appeared in Yakuza 4 as the suave owner of generous loan company Sky Finance. Since then, hes appeared in Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6, and most recently in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, where he reunites with Kiryu in an optional side mission.With Majimas spin-off ticked off the list, the obvious question is whether we could see a game dedicated to Akiyama down the line. When we put this question to Like A Dragon producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, he was apologetic, as he quashed our dreams.Sorry, no hope for an Akiyama spin-off, Sakamoto told GameCentral. If we just made spin-offs, wed never actually make the main stuff we want to make. Akiyama was a playable character in Yakuza 5 (Sega)The decision to pick Majima for an off-shoot seems to have been borne out of various factors after Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, although one of them is simply a desire to explore the character further.Asked why they chose to bring back Majima now, Sakamoto said: We initially said to ourselves, OK we want to do a spin-off, we want it to [take] about a year to make, and we wanted it to really just be fun and do something that surprises the people who have seen our games before.When we did Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name before, we had Kiryu as our protagonist, and we thought, OK lets go for somebody different who is an interesting character we could explore more? And that, within a year, we could make a really fun, out of the normal mould game? And Majima seemed a pretty good fit for all of these things.At the moment, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is working on various other games outside the Like A Dragon series, including the mysterious Project Century, set in 1915 Japan and a new Virtua Fighter.More TrendingIf you want more on Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii before it launches on February 20, 2025, we recently went hands-on with the ship combat and spoke to Sakamoto further about the studios approach to game development. Goro Majima is taking the wheel (Sega)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy