The Yakuza series has a long and storied history since the first game's release in 2005, and since then the series has branched out into a successful franchise over the past 15 years. The series especially has gained a lot of traction with new players within the past few years, and to date the series has continued to climb towards impressive sales numbers and worldwide attention.

As part of its annual report for lifetime game sales in 2020, SEGA has revealed that the Yakuza series has reached over 14 million in sales to date across all of its titles. Previously, SEGA tracked 11 million sales in 2018 and 12 million sales in 2019 for the Yakuza series, with the latest jump this year likely tied to the release of its latest entry, Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Overall, SEGA notes positive results for the series' sales track so far and notes that Yakuza has had tremendous growth outside of Japan. Specifically, in its report SEGA noted that a large portion of the series' increase in popularity is tied to its depictions of Japanese culture and tone, which has allowed it to branch out to audiences in other territories around the world.

However, SEGA noted that while the series has found an incredible degree of growth, the company still considers Yakuza to be a "niche" franchise that appeals to a niche market, and is continuing to explore ways to cater to that audience. SEGA noted that releasing the series across multiple platforms has been an effective strategy to expand its appeal, with its release on PC especially helping to bring it to new audiences that haven't played past entries.

The series' latest release, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is available now on Xbox Series X/Series S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and will be coming to PS5 on March 2, 2021.