Judgment and Lost Judgment are coming to PC despite modding controversy

digitaltrends.com:

Ryu Ga Gotoku and Sega have announced that both Judgment and Lost Judgment will be coming to PC via Steam on September 14. The releases are significant, considering a talent agency reportedly was blocking the series from coming to PC due to mods.

In Judgment, protagonist Takayuki Yagami must solve a murder mystery where the perpetrator has been murdering Yakuza members around the city of Kamurocho and gouging their eyes out. In the sequel, Lost Judgment, Yagami’s journey takes place in both Kamurocho and Ijincho as he solves another murder case but is linked with an additional bullying incident that spans several decades.

Judgment is currently available on Amazon Luna, Google Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Lost Judgment is also available on those platforms, minus Stadia.

Fans have been wondering about the mysterious absence of PC versions of both games since Sega typically launches their games on all relevant modern platforms. Reportedly, a talent agency called Johnny & Associates wanted to block the game from being on PC due to the platform’s ability to mod assets. This was reported to protect actor Takuya Kimura, who provides his likeness for Yagami. As such, people speculated about the future of this Yakuza spinoff and whether Lost Judgment could be the final game starring Yagami. The PC audience is enormous, as even Sony has come around to publishing its older PlayStation exclusives on the platform.

However, now both Judgement and Lost Judgment are coming to PC, opening up its player base even more. Ryu Ga Gotoku is also currently working on Yakuza 8, the next game within its mainline franchise that will continue to follow Ichiban Kasuga which will release in 2024.