News
Like a Dragon’s Gamescom glow can’t hide the cracks forming behind it
Several independent developers signed an open letter this week pushing back against crunch practices. The letter, published on social media, calls for industry-wide standards and lists specific actions for publishers and platform holders.
Gamescom opened with a slate of Turn-based RPG announcements. Three were already known; two were genuine surprises; one — from a studio with no prior public profile — drew the loudest crowd reaction of the day.
In a brief statement released this morning, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio confirmed that work on their next title is underway. The studio declined to give a release window beyond ’2025 or later,’ but characterizes the project as ’a step sideways’ from their previous work.
In a brief statement released this morning, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio confirmed that work on their next title is underway. The studio declined to give a release window beyond ’2026 or later,’ but characterizes the project as ’a step sideways’ from their previous work.
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Reader comments
MK
Marco Kobayashi2026-06-15
An open letter calling out publishers dropping the same week RGG is headlining Gamescom — the timing alone is worth an entire separate piece, not a footnote in a hype recap.
BK
Bailey Karlsson2026-06-15
The open letter angle is fair to raise, but bundling it into a Gamescom recap without naming which publishers are actually implicated feels like the article wants credit for the observation without doing the harder reporting. Six announcements, two genuine surprises, and we’re told the loudest reaction went to a studio with zero prior public profile — that’s the more interesting story and it gets one sentence.
FB
Fang Barnes2026-06-15
Honest question: does the ’cracks forming’ framing refer to something specific in Infinite Wealth’s reception post-launch, or is it purely tied to the crunch letter and the competition from that unannounced studio? The headline implies internal studio trouble but the excerpt reads more like external industry pressure. Those are pretty different stories.
NF
Nathan Fukuda2026-06-15
The piece is right that Infinite Wealth had genuine Gamescom momentum, but framing it as a crack-forming situation undersells how much RGG Studio has actually delivered mechanically. The job system overhaul in IW is the most ambitious thing they’ve attempted since Ishin, and the crowd popping for that mystery studio doesn’t automatically mean fatigue with the mainline series. What the article doesn’t address is whether the crunch letter signatories include anyone connected to RGG or its publisher — because that context would make the pairing of these two stories feel earned rather than editorially convenient. Juxtaposing Gamescom enthusiasm with labor concerns is a legitimate angle, I just want the connective tissue to be more explicit.
CK
Catherine Kozak2026-06-15
Wait, so the mystery studio with no prior public profile — did the article say anything about what genre or platform the game is targeting? I came in through Infinite Wealth as my first Like a Dragon entry and I’m curious whether the crowd reaction was specifically turn-based RPG fans or just a general Gamescom buzz thing. The distinction matters for whether it actually signals anything about IW’s positioning.
QG
Qasim Goh2026-06-15
Three already-known announcements getting floor time at Gamescom over fresher reveals is exactly the kind of scheduling that makes the show feel padded every year.
