Sega finally announced a decision after it removed from sale all copies of Judgment in Japan due to the involvement and arrest of actor Pierre Taki during a drug bust in Tokyo.
The announcement came via the official account of the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which developed Judgment and is also behind the Yakuza series.
According to the announcement the character model and Japanese voice of Kyohei Hamura – played by Pierre Taki – will be altered for the western release, which is confirmed for June 25, 2019.
Screenshots and trailers featuring Hamura have been temporarily removed from all of SEGA’s official channels. Updated versions of these materials will be made available at a later date.
— RGG Studio (@RGGStudio) March 22, 2019
The Japanese press release is even clearer on the confirmation of the release date, explicitly mentioning that the game will launch on June 25 “as originally planned.”
We also learn that trailers and images including Taki-san’s likeness have been removed from Sega’s official channels and new ones with the new looks and voice will be provided at a later time.
At the moment there is no information about a possible relaunch of the game in Japan.
If you’re not familiar with the whole scandal, Sega suspended sales of its PS4 adventure game Judgment (titled Judge Eyes on the Japanese market) following the arrest of actor, singer, and performer Pierre Taki during a drug bust in Tokyo.
After a few days, Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato expressed a strong will to bring the game back. While Sega’s decision involves a lot of additional work for the development team, at least they can find comfort in the fact that all of their efforts won’t go wasted.
If you want to see more about Judgment, you can also watch the latest trailer, another trailer showcasing the western localization, which have not been removed since Kyohei Hamura does not appear.
Below you can watch a recording of an earlier video showing Taki-san’s character in action, for the posterity.
