Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth paywalls New Game Plus behind $85/$110 editions - and one Yakuza actor argues the decision "hurts community goodwill"

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
(Image credit: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio)

Like A Dragon:ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Infinite Wealth is locking its New Game Plus mode behind more expensiಞve editions. 

The Yakuza RPG arrives in just a few days on Jan💫uary 26, but those who want to replay the massive romp with all their skills and gear intact will need to spend extra. Infinite Wealth's reveals that New Game Plus - a feature that's normally free of charge - is paywalled behind the more expensive Deluxe and Ultimate editions. 

. To access New Game Plus, though, you'll unfortunately need to fork out $85/£75 for the Deluxe edition or a whopping $110/£95 for the Ultimate edition. 

Other extras in these premium editions include a post-game dungeon, bonus music, and more characters added to the game's wild (off-brand) Anim♕al Crossing and Pokémജon-style mini-games

New Game Plus, as mentioned, is a fairly standard feature found in countless games that feature leveling, loot, and whatnot. Everything from Elden Ring to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alan Wake 2 lets you replay the game while retaining all your goodies - and games such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are adding the feature in a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:free, post-launch update

Needless to say, news that a usually-free feature is now being paywalled has irked many. "It’s not 'bizarre', it’s just greedy," the top comment on the Yakuza reads. "I strongly dislike the cut-throat approꦆach to DLC and locking a basic feature behind a paywall," says another. 

Yong Yea, who voices one of the game’s two protagonists🥃, Kazuma Kiryu, also spoke up against the money-hun🌊gry release strategy. "No game should lock New Game Plus behind a paywall," he writes in a social media . "Doing so hurts community goodwill and replayability, a net negative in the long run. It should be a base feature or free update for any game that supports it."

Developer RGG Studio and publisher Sega haveꩲn't responded to the backlash thus far, but the tactic won't change if it makes the companies enough money come January 26. 

Check out what else is new with our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:upcoming games of 2024 guide.

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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Liter🌊ature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.