The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series timeline isn’t necessarily complicated, but there have been enough titles to make it difficult to keep up with. Here, we explain when Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name takes place and where it sits in the main series timeline.
When Does Like a Dragon Gaiden Take Place?
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is meant to connect the stories of Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth by explaining what Kiryu was doing during the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (gaiden is Japanese for “side story”). As a result, Like a Dragon Gaiden starts in 2016 after the events of Yakuza 6, but the game mostly takes place in 2019 during the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The Mainline Yakuza/Like a Dragon Video Game Timeline
It isn’t uncommon for Yakuza/Like A Dragon games to start in one year, then have a time skip to when the game mostly takes place. The following table lists each mainline Yakuza/Like a Dragon game in chronological order of when the game primarily takes place, ignoring prologues and flashbacks. The Judgment games have been included since some characters cross over in the Yakuza/Like A Dragon games, while the historical drama games, which take place in the 1600s and 1800s, have been excluded.
| Yakuza/Like a Dragon Game | Primary Year it Takes Place In |
| Yakuza 0 | 1988 |
| Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami | 2005 |
| Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2 | 2006 |
| Yakuza 3 | 2009 |
| Yakuza 4 | 2010 |
| Yakuza 5 | 2012 |
| Yakuza 6 | 2016 |
| Judgment | 2018 |
| Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name | 2019 |
| Yakuza: Like a Dragon | 2019 |
| Lost Judgment | 2021 |
The exact year Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes place is currently unknown, but because it’s a sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it will undoubtedly occur sometime after 2019.
And that is the current Yakuza/Like a Dragon timeline and where Like a Dragon Gaiden falls into it. If you’re looking for more information, check out our guide on how to level up the Akame Network in Like a Dragon Gaiden.
