Yakuza Kiwami will be the first SEGA game to offer a Switch 2 upgrade path

Over the past couple console generations we’ve seen the games industry tackle the idea of remasters and next-gen upgrades in many different ways. From full priced ‘remasters’ to £10 upgrades to entirely-free patches, whether a publisher charges for its upgrades or not has been quite inconsistent. Adding to this confusion, SEGA has now confirmed that the upcoming Switch 2 version of Yakuza Kiwami will offer a (paid) upgrade path – the first Switch 2 title from SEGA to do so.

Ahead of the official launch of Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 for the Switch 2 later this year in November, SEGA has confirmed that the former of the two (which landed on the OG Switch back in October 2024) will feature a paid upgrade path to the tune to 1000¥ – or roughly $10.

While in and of itself not a surprise, given that Yakuza Kiwami 1 reportedly sold like “hotcakes” on the Switch 1, this represents the first Switch 2 game from SEGA to offer an upgrade path – with the likes of Sonic x Shadows Generations lacking any such option.

That said, the upcoming Sonic Racing Crossworlds was technically confirmed to be the first SEGA game to include an upgrade path from Switch 1 to Switch 2, though the racing title isn’t planned to arrive until the tail end of the year (or 2026 if you want a physical version).

Curiously, SEGA’s support for the Switch 2 so far has been one of the oddest, with the publisher seemingly testing out as many different release strategies as possible; using Game-Key Cards for some games but not others; offering upgrade paths for some games and not others; while also porting games over without their DLC in certain instances.

As with the PS4-PS5 generation, hopefully these developers and publishers eventually wind up landing on a consistent method which benefits both themselves and most importantly the players. It will be interesting to see how SEGA’s strategy evolves as the generation proceeds.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of the various types of upgrade paths? Is a $10 price fair if it only offers improved framerates/resolutions, or should paid upgrades include additional features/content? Let us know down below.

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