Sega may let some Roblox users make Like a Dragon spin-off games and split the revenue

The opportunity is part of a new Roblox licensing plan that also involves Squid Game, Twilight and Saw

The 2023 Sega game Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which was not made in Roblox. Screenshot: Sega, RGG Studio

In the world of video games, few franchises are more abundant than Sega’s Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza) crime capers, which get a new installment about once a year from the hard-working folks at the publisher’s RGG Studio.

But what if there were more Like a Dragon games?

And what if you made them? And split the revenue with Sega?

Sega is into that, as is Roblox, the massively popular platform where users create—and monetize—thousands of games and experiences for other users to play.

Roblox announced today the launch of a new “License Manager” tool that is designed to allow rights-holders such as Sega to solicit and accept submissions for user-made Roblox games and experiences that use famous characters and franchises. Through a new interface, companies such as Netflix, Lionsgate and Sega are offering terms and revenue splits for what could be a wave of new, authorized fan-made games, as Roblox lets people channel their inner THQ.

It fits. Roblox has long been loaded with unofficial user-made experiences tied to the world’s best-known characters. Its new system is a means make that kind of thing more official.

For Like a Dragon, for example, Sega says it will consider submissions from Roblox creators who have made at least one unofficial Like a Dragon experience that has been averaging 1,000 daily active users (DAUs).

And it says it’ll split revenue for user-made Like a Dragon games 50/50.

Sega would also like these games to be true to the series’ lore. As they put it: