Sega announced today the start of an actress audition for the next Yakuza game. Through that announcement, it was also revealed that the next Yakuza game is scheduled to launch on PS4. No release date estimate was published, however.

The audition is open to all women above twenty years old living in Japan. The queen of fighters surging above others in the audition will get to act as one of the main characters in the game. She will be one of the protagonist's comrades and fight alongside him. The winner will also participate in promotional events, get a prize of one million Yen and a free copy of the game.

This isn't the first time such auditions are organized for Yakuza games, whether for men or women. However, it is the first time that instead of appearing as a side character or in the game's Hostess Clubs, the winner will play one of the main characters.

Here's a complete description of the audition and the role from the official page of the audition:

We are holding an audition to find an actress for the next Yakuza game on PlayStation 4. The character played by the winner will be one of the main characters in the game, one of the comrades of protagonist Kasuga Ichiban, who will fight and follow the dragon's path alongside him. We have conducted many auditions for the Yakuza games in the past, but it's the first time we're doing an audition for a main role. Along with appearing in-game, the winning actress will also appear with other actresses and actors during events to promote the game. The audition is open to all women who wishes to pursue an acting carreer, whether they've played the past Yakuza games or not. We are looking forward to your applications.

Applications are sent through the official page linked above, and the deadline to send them is April 21. Candidates who got through the first phase will be contacted before May 13, and the second phases of the audition will be held on May 18 in Tokyo and May 19 in Osaka. Candidates who get through this second phase will participate in a two-day long third selection sometime in June in Tokyo. Starting this third phase, Sega will cover the transportation and lodging expenses of the candidates. The fourth and final phase of the audition is scheduled for July in Tokyo, with an event where the winner will be revealed. We'll get to know more about the next Yakuza game then, along with the face of one of the game's main female characters.

Sega already announced this next Yakuza game back in 2017. That said, even if they didn't announce anything about it, it was obvious Yakuza Studio was working on a new Yakuza game, seeing the worldwide popularity of the series. Back in 2017, the game's tentative title was revealed as well: Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku, or New Yakuza. While we already know the game will take place after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, it's still unclear whether it'll be called "Yakuza 7" or something else, and the game's real name wasn't revealed yet.

As we already know, New Yakuza's protagonist is named Kasuga Ichiban and played by Kazuhiro Nakatani. In the past, Nakatani also played Akira Nishikiyama in older Yakuza games. It was also already confirmed that older characters will return in New Yakuza.

Kasuga Ichiban is also the protagonist of Yakuza Online, which was announced in 2017 at the same time as New Yakuza. Yakuza Online is now available in Japan, and Sega's chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi shared that he wishes to bring Yakuza Online to the west, but can't promise anything.

Yakuza Studio's other game, Judgment, should be coming west in June, but it's possible the game gets delayed following the arrest of Pierre Taki. You can read more about that case here and here.