The technical director of the Like a Dragon series, Yutaka Ito, considers that the new Ryu Ga Gotoku programmers are lucky to work on the famous and prolific Yakuza series.
In a wide-ranging interview with Automaton, Ito provided a number of insights into the inner workings that make Like a Dragon games release so consistently.
Ito explained that modern Like a Dragon games have between 40 and 50 programmers working on them, but they are divided into different areas of the game “whether it's adventure, battles, mini-games or something else.” This creates a set of specialized and largely autonomous “modules” that program “using the method that best suits their needs.”
Ito said that the main programmers of the Yakuza games probably aren't aware of exactly what each module is doing at any given time, but each has their own section leader who makes sure everything goes as planned. According to Ito, this is “precisely how we can make such large-scale games in the Like a Dragon series.”
Programming section manager Tomoaki Nakamura also weighed in with words of encouragement for new programmers working with RGG. “If your name appears in the end credits of a game in your second year in the industry, and your next title is just around the corner, you might want to stick with it for another year. The names of the rookies of the year last appeared in three games in a single year.”
That prompted this comment from Ito about the seemingly endless development time on AAA games:
“Recent big titles tend to have long development cycles, so I think the new programmers at RGG Studio are blessed (laughs)”
Fortunately, I don't have to throw any specific study under the bus when trying to assume which one Ito is referring to, as AAA development is taking longer across the board.
Speaking of which, The developer of The Witcher 4 says that it takes 5-6 years to make a game after the idea is conceived, but does not say when The Witcher 4 was thought of..