Lost Judgement may be the last game in the series, following an actor’s image rights dispute

The Judgement series might be coming to an end sooner than expected, following a dispute between Sega and lead actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency, a report has claimed.

That’s according to Japanese showbiz site Nikkan Taishu (spotted by VGC), which quotes sources who claim that Kimura’s agency, Johnny & Associates, have been blocking the Judgement series from coming to PC, as they do not want Kimura appearing in PC games.

Nikkan Taishu claims that this is due to the agency having “strict control over the [likeness] rights of its talent, and the use of their image online is still limited to a few.”

According to the report, Sega has been trying to bring the Judgement series to Steam, but the agency has been blocking these efforts. Therefore, the site claims, Sega may bring the series to an end following the release of the second title, Lost Judgement.

“The game makers have decided that if they can’t distribute the game on Steam, it would be very difficult from a business standpoint, and the series will end with the second game, Lost Judgment,” claims the report.

According to the report, Kimura himself is unhappy about the news.

“He strongly wanted to continue the series, it seems, but he said he was quite disappointed when he heard that he might not be able to do that.”

Lost Judgement is a sequel to 2018’s Judgement, from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which was itself a spin-off title from their hugely popular Yakuza series. The games follow the adventures of defence attorney turned private investigator Takayuki Yagami.

Lost Judgement is set to release for PlayStation and Xbox consoles on September 24th this year. Just in time for my birthday, in case you were looking for gift ideas.