[2][3] It was also ported to Windows via Steam worldwide on February 19, 2019,[4] to Xbox One on April 21, 2020,[5] to Amazon Luna on December 22, 2022,[6] and to Nintendo Switch on October 24, 2024.

[7] Like the original PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza Kiwami explores the life of a man named Kazuma Kiryu who is demoted from his clan after taking the blame for his boss's murder.

[2] In addition to the main story, players will randomly encounter enemies on the street to battle, as well as meet people that will offer Kiryu side quests which can be completed for rewards.

[12][13] Money can be spent to purchase equipment or healing items, or to play various minigames and side-activities such as gambling, karaoke, and the card battle game Mesuking.

A free man, Kiryu discovers that Nishikiyama is now a powerful but cold-hearted yakuza boss, his childhood friend and girlfriend Yumi Sawamura (Maaya Sakamoto) has gone missing, and everyone is searching for ten billion yen that was stolen from his former organization, the Tojo Clan.

As war erupts throughout the streets of Kamurocho between many different factions (including government agents and the Triad), Kiryu decides to find Yumi and the missing money, and protect Haruka (Rie Kugimiya), a mysterious young girl whom everyone seems to be after.

Eventually, a remorseful Nishikiyama sacrifices himself to kill Haruka's father, Kyohei Jingu (Hiroaki Yoshida), who was a corrupt politician bent on destroying the Tojo and his loved ones, while Yumi died in Kiryu's arms from a gunshot wound.

Kiwami's story also introduces two new plot lines focused on Nishikiyama and Goro Majima (Hidenari Ugaki), a ruthless Tojo captain and Kiryu's rival.

As Yuko, his terminally ill sister, requires a heart transplant, Nishikiyama visits a doctor, who tells him that he needs 30 million yen to pay for it.

Osamu Kashiwagi (Shunsuke Sakuya), the Kazama Family captain, violently disciplines Nishikiyama, then forgives him but tells him that Kiryu would be morally better as a leader.

Finally fed up with the disrespect and harassment, Nishikiyama stabs him, and confesses to Dojima's murder, before using the blood to slick back his hair, becoming the changed man Kiryu would encounter during the main story.

When Kiryu is released from prison, Majima is disappointed by his combat skills going rusty and arranges a series of elaborate and bizarre scenarios to manipulate him into fighting and thus, make him stronger.

Despite the fights, Majima collaborates with Kiryu to defeat Dojima Family loyalists and even confesses to him that he does not care about avenging Shimano's death.

Series writer Masayoshi Yokoyama stated that Sega had plans to develop Kiwami in 2015 with the company wishing gamers enjoy the first Yakuza game on more modern quality.

The new voice actors include Tomokazu Sugita (who plays Shinji), however, his characterization was left to keep faithful to his bond with Kiryu despite their different ranks.

Similar to that game, Yakuza Kiwami has strong depictions of violence, most notably in the Heat Action sequences the player can perform.

[18] Kiwami improves the resolution, framerate, textures and loading times compared to the original game, and additional content was added to resolve some of the more confusing plot points, as well as tie the story more closely to the events of the prequel title Yakuza 0.

[10][28] Game Informer referred to it as "simple and satisfying", commenting positively on the way Kiryu can easily perform intense fighting techniques.

[27] Polygon criticized how Dragon style has to be grinded as the multiple fights against Majima might make the player lose most of their health points.

[36] Sega's Chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that the western preorders for Yakuza Kiwami were generally good for the series.