Sega has filed a trademark for something called Yakuza Wars, although it's not clear exactly what that title might refer to.
The trademark listing appears on the Japanese trademark site Chizai Watch (as spotted by Wario64), and while the listing is entirely in Japanese, we can see that it pertains to something simply called Yakuza Wars and that it was filed by Sega.
Yakuza Wars is a pretty evocative title, and it could belong to a number of potential games. One user on X (formerly Twitter) suggests that Yakuza Wars could be a Yakuza and Sakura Wars crossover, while another theorizes that it could be a tactical RPG set in the Yakuza-slash-Like a Dragon universe.
What's particularly interesting about this trademark is that Sega appears to have opted for the franchise's old Western name, Yakuza, rather than the Like a Dragon name that's currently being used both in Japan and in the West.
That might lend some weight to the Sakura Wars crossover theory; after all, Yakuza Wars rolls off the tongue much better than Like a Dragon Wars, and Sakura Wars is a Sega franchise.
The name change could, however, simply be a case of Sega covering all eventualities. Yakuza Wars could eventually end up being called Like a Dragon Wars, and Yakuza Wars could simply be a trademark grab to stop others from using that name.
Given that we don't know much about whatever Yakuza Wars will turn out to be right now, we can only speculate. It's likely we'll have to wait a while for any concrete info about whatever the project turns out to be.
We do, however, know that Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio will reveal its next project at Gamescom this year, so it's possible we could learn what Yakuza Wars is later this month.
In the meantime, it's all go for the franchise. The latest mainline installment, Infinite Wealth, is the fastest-selling game in the series, having sold a million copies within just a week. There's also a major TV series in the works, which will air on Prime Video later this year.
