In a recent interview the Yakuza series producer once again talked up how both Yakuza: Ishin and Yakuza: Kenzan historical-era spinoffs might finally get a western release, due to the popularity of Sony’s historical-era action game Ghost of Tsushima.

Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato reiterated (via GameBlog) his previous tease about bringing the Yakuza spin-offs Yakuza: Ishin (pictured) and Yakuza: Kenzan to the west, noting Sony’s success with Ghost of Tsushima has reignited the west’s interest in historical-era titles.

“Even long before Ghost of Tsushima, I did want to release ‘samurai’ games like Kenzan and Ishin in the West,” Sato said. “Unfortunately, after Yakuza 0, we were very busy with remastering the numbering Yakuza titles for the PS4, so we missed the opportunity to work on some of these other games.

He added, “However, if anything, Ghost of Tsushima has helped Western gamers become more interested in samurai, so I should think of it as now is a more opportune time to release these titles.”

Previously, Sato noted that the action in both Ishin and Kenzan is “some of the best on the show” but since the games are already several years old, he’d like to “take additional work to produce remakes instead of simple ports. That makes the decision a little more complicated.”

While the mainline Yakuza games taking place in the 20th century and later, Yakuza: Ishin is set during the Bakumatsu historical period of Japan and Yakuza: Kenzan is set during the Edo period.

Would you like to see either Yakuza: Ishin and Yakuza: Kenzan getting a western release? Sound off in the comments below!