Update: The game is now available to purchase from Steam and Playstation store in India.
SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku studios launched the latest iteration of their long-running Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name “worldwide”, yesterday. At least that’s what they want you to think. Despite what SEGA’s marketing material says about their newfound love for global releases, people from selected countries are getting the short end of the stick. Apparently, Like A Dragon Gaiden is not available for purchase on Steam and the Playstation Store in India, Argentina, Turkey and other selected regions.
Like A Dragon Gaiden did in fact had store pages in the aforementioned countries, but SEGA promptly removed the listings last month without any clarification. The popular consensus online was that SEGA removed the game from countries with “volatile” currencies and would put them back on sale once the game releases globally. For one, we do not know how Indian currency would count as volatile and secondly, even 12 hours after the global launch, the title is still unavailable for purchase directly from Steam and PSN.
Now, if you are from India, Argentina or Turkey, you can technically buy the game on Steam using a few workarounds. You can buy a Steam Key from Fanatical for $43.49 or, use specific store page links to add them to your cart. If you added the game to your wishlist on Steam before the page was pulled down, you can add the game to cart from the wishlist page. If these do not work, you can play the game on Xbox Gamepass as a last resort. Then again, that leaves Indian Playstation gamers in the dust, unless you import a physical version.
It’s really disappointing that such a big company as SEGA is treating gamers from these countries in a differential way, and is a slap in the face of the niche community who supported the game from the beginning. We tried reaching out to SEGA and RGG but haven’t got an official response from them. Judging by how Persona 3 Reloaded and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth still do not have pre-order options in India, it can be assumed that they will suffer the same fate as Like A Dragon Gaiden.
that’s so disappointing i was really looking forward for this release
The game is now available in the India Steam store