Offering a hard-boiled noir spin on SEGA’s Yakuza series, Judgment has been primed for a sequel since releasing in the West in 2019. However, the idea had only recently seen traction as rumors swirled regarding the game’s future over the last few weeks. Having just released for next-gen platforms last month, it looks like Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is gearing up for more as an official Judgment sequel has now been announced under the title Lost Judgment.

As revealed in a recent “Judgment Day” reveal event, Lost Judgment is set to release on September 24th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Based on an accompanying trailer below, the new story appears to follow the events of the first game, following street-fighting detective Takayuki Yagami as he unravels the threads of another action-packed mystery. This time around, the game’s investigation revolves around a horrific murder that looks to put Yagami in the crosshairs of some particularly dangerous baddies.

As the original Judgment proved to be a fairly self-contained detective story, this sequel may come as a surprise to some expecting another Yakuza game in the immediate future. However, Ryu Ga Gotoku producer and Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi noted (via Gematsu) the studio decided to take the lead from those “around the world who wanted a sequel” and to “give the fans what they wanted.” For the Judgment sequel, the studio is aiming to “create something even greater than the original.”

“In this sequel, Lost Judgment, we sought to overcome the many walls we created for ourselves in the first game,” Nagoshi said. “The script writing required countless hours to get right and we recorded over 1,000 minutes of voiced dialogue for the cutscenes. Not to mention the pressure to create something even greater than the original. However, we heard from fans around the world who wanted a sequel. And our desire to give the fans what they wanted only grew from there.”

“This time around, the story came about after a lot of heated debate. So I’m confident we’ve created a game unlike anything you’ve seen before.”

Lost Judgment releases for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 24th.

What do you think? Are you excited to see where the next Takayuki Yagami adventure goes next, or have you yet to play the original Judgment just yet? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more new release headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:

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