Sega Sammy CCO Toshihiro Nagoshi recently told Edge that the Yakuza development team is focusing on their Japan-exclusive PS3 and PS4 launch title, Yakuza Ishin, rather than localizing 2012's Yakuza 5 for Western audiences. Ishin is a spin-off set in the late Edo period in Japan and will feature some form of Vita Cross-Play.

Nagoshi explained that due to the Yakuza team's size, they decided to pass up working on a port of Y5 to focus solely on Ishin. Nagoshi feels that he and his team "owe it to PlayStation fans" for Ishin to be a PS4 launch title, "even if it means a bit of pressure."

Nagoshi expressed interest in localizing Ishin for other territories, provided the Yakuza team finds the manpower and money to do so. Yazuka: Dead Souls was the last game in the series to be launched outside of Japan.