Yakuza 7 officially announced for PlayStation 4, is command-based, set to release in Japan on January 16, 2020 with Western releases to follow

by Adam Vitale on 29 August, 2019

Update (August 30)

Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama posted a Twitter thread describing some of the elements to the new command-based battle system in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. We've highlighted the key components below.

Calls it a "Live Command RPG Battle" system, meaning enemies will not be stationary and the battle situation will constantly be changing.
Entering combat does not stop the "town" from moving (environments keep moving, etc.) and both enemies and allies will move to face each other in combat. You can interact and damage the environment.
Because it's also developed from the same systems from the Dragon Engine and from the series itself, items on the battlefield can be used as weapons (bikes, signs, etc.)
Turn order is decided by characters parameters. The same result is never guaranteed when attacking the same target either, as there is the possibility another enemy might try to block the attack of the one you targeted earlier.
When using items (bikes, signs, etc) distance and character skills and "occupation" will determine how they attack with it.
When trying to flee combat your escape can be blocked by enemies. Players can still also attack multiple enemies at a time, but this is dependent on techniques.
The system is called "Live Command RPG Battle" because people who fight in cities always have to mind their surroundings in an always moving space.
There is an Auto mode for combat.

Original (August 29)

Today during the 'Ryu ga Gotoku Latest Title" conference in Akihabara Japan, Sega and Ryu ga Gotoku Studio officially lifted the curtains on Yakuza 7 (Ryu ga Gotoku 7 in Japan). The official website is here.

The official English title seems to be Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

While this newest game had been teased and discussed at the same time the Yakuza Online was announced, this is our first concrete look at the newest title in the Yakuza series. The game will be released for PlayStation 4 in Japan, South Korea, and China on January 16, 2020, and there are already plans in place to bring the game to North America and Europe later in the same year.

An announcement trailer can be found below.

As Kazuma Kiryu's storyline concluded in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, the new protagonist is Kasuga Ichiban. The general story premise behind this title, as translated by Gematsu, is:

Kasuga went to jail in 2002. 18 yrs later, waiting 4 him in Kamurocho is the gun barrel of Masumi Arakawa (CV: Kiichi Nakai), who Kasuga owes his life. He manages to make his way to Yokohama. Saved by Nanba (Ken Yasuda), this is the story of Kasuga's rise.

Yakuza 7 also makes a dramatic gameplay shift from previous entries in the series, as it has become a fully command-based RPG. Earlier this year, the Studio actually teased the turn-based nature in an April Fool's joke video. Turns out this was less of a joke and more of a glimpse of what's to come. Kasuga is a big fan of the Dragon Quest series, so the game uses a similar type of battle system. However, series' boss Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that future releases may not maintain this new gameplay style, depending on feedback.