Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth paywalls New Game Plus behind $85/$110 editions - and one Yakuza actor argues the ...

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is locking its New Game Plus mode behind more expensive editions. 

The Yakuza RPG arrives in just a few days on January 26, but those who want to replay the massive romp with all their skills and gear intact will need to spend extra. Infinite Wealth's official website reveals that New Game Plus - a feature that's normally free of charge - is paywalled behind the more expensive Deluxe and Ultimate editions. 

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth's standard edition, which just gives you access to the base game, is available to purchase for $70/£60 on Steam. To access New Game Plus, though, you'll unfortunately need to fork out $85/£75 for the Deluxe edition or a whopping $110/£95 for the Ultimate edition. 

Other extras in these premium editions include a post-game dungeon, bonus music, and more characters added to the game's wild (off-brand) Animal Crossing and Pokémon-style mini-games. 

New Game Plus, as mentioned, is a fairly standard feature found in countless games that feature leveling, loot, and whatnot. Everything from Elden Ring to Alan Wake 2 lets you replay the game while retaining all your goodies - and games such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are adding the feature in a free, post-launch update. 

Needless to say, news that a usually-free feature is now being paywalled has irked many. "It’s not 'bizarre', it’s just greedy," the top comment on the Yakuza subreddit reads. "I strongly dislike the cut-throat approach to DLC and locking a basic feature behind a paywall," says another. 

Yong Yea, who voices one of the game’s two protagonists, Kazuma Kiryu, also spoke up against the money-hungry release strategy. "No game should lock New Game Plus behind a paywall," he writes in a social media post. "Doing so hurts community goodwill and replayability, a net negative in the long run. It should be a base feature or free update for any game that supports it."

Developer RGG Studio and publisher Sega haven't responded to the backlash thus far, but the tactic won't change if it makes the companies enough money come January 26. 

Check out what else is new with our upcoming games of 2024 guide.