The Judgment Series Is Finally Heading To Steam

gameinformer.com:

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has announced that its Yakuza-adjacent Judgment series will make its way to Steam for the first time. The best news: you only have to wait until tomorrow to play them.

Judgment and Lost Judgment come to Steam on September 15. This marks the first appearance of each game on PC (though Judgment has been available to stream on PC via Stadia). 

This news is especially significant given that RGG Studio originally planned to release Lost Judgment on PC when it launched last year. However, that version was nixed when the talent agency representing actor Takuya Kimura, who portrays protagonist Takayuki Yagami, enforced strict policies about allowing Kimura’s likeness on PC. Both parties' inability to agree threatened Judgment’s future as a franchise since RGG Studio has pushed for more of its titles to come to Steam; every mainline Yakuza game is available on the storefront, for example. It would appear those issues have been ironed out, which bodes well for the potential of a third game. 

The Judgment games are noir action thrillers that adhere to the same open-world design template as the Yakuza series. Though the plots largely unfold in Kamurocho, the series stars a new cast of characters and emphasizes investigative gameplay. Players control Yagami, a disgraced lawyer and private detective who works to unravel a pair of conspiracy plots. In Yakuza fashion, he also has his hands full helping his colorful clients and random citizens solve more light-hearted – or comically absurd – problems. 

To learn more about each title, you can read our reviews for Judgment here and Lost Judgment here.