Lost Judgment May Be The Last in the Judgment Series

By M. Kang

Posted on July 12, 2021

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Reports indicate that if conversations continue to trend the way they have been, upcoming title Lost Judgment may be the last in the Judgment series.

According a report by Nikkan Taishu (via VGC), there exists some issues between Sega’s publication priorities and Johnny & Associates, actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency.

The problem stems from their different perspectives on PC releases. Sega has been looking to publish both Lost Judgment and its predecessor, Judgment, to PC via Steam. However, Johnny & Associates prefers control over their talent’s likeness and restricts the use of said likeness online. PC ports of the game could theoretically expand the usage Kimura’s image online.

Due to Johnny & Associates stance, Sega may not be willing to support another entry: “the game makers have decided that if they can’t distribute the game on Steam, it would be very difficult from a business standpoint, and the series will end with the second game, Lost Judgment.”

Lost Judgment has been receiving significant air time recently as it was featured in the most recent PlayStation State of Play. It is a spin-off title from Sega’s famous Yakuza series and combines some of the darker elements of the series with detective gameplay.

Although things have yet to be confirmed, perhaps the release of the game on September 24^th may make one side or both sides amenable to continuing the series in whatever format is mutually acceptable.