RGG Studio has released the first story trailer for Stranger Than Heaven, covering the opening act of the game. The video, titled “Act 1: Kokura,” arrived on October 16 and sets up the story ahead of the January 15, 2027 launch.
Key points
- RGG Studio released the first story trailer for Stranger Than Heaven, titled Act 1: Kokura, on October 16, 2026.
- Act 1 follows Makoto Daito, who travels to Japan on a ship tied to the merchant Orpheus, played by Snoop Dogg.
- The game launches January 15, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and is on Game Pass on day one.
- The story spans five eras and five Japanese cities, starting in Kokura, Fukuoka, in 1915.
The trailer is the first in a series built around the game’s eras. For Yakuza fans, it is the most detailed look yet at the plot of RGG’s next major release.
What Act 1 shows
The act opens after the death of Makoto Daito’s parents. Makoto gets aboard a ship bound for Japan. The vessel belongs to the trading merchant Orpheus, played by Snoop Dogg.
Accounts of how Makoto gets aboard differ. Some coverage describes a stowaway, while Game Informer’s write-up of the trailer says he asks Orpheus to take him.
The ship reaches Kokura, in Fukuoka Prefecture, in 1915. Japan is not the place Makoto imagined, and he has to deal with life in a city that does not welcome him. Orpheus appears to take him under his wing, and Makoto eventually joins the Yashima clan.
Five eras, five cities
Act 1 is one part of a story that runs from 1915 to 1965 across five Japanese cities. Kokura is the first. The later stops are Kure in Hiroshima, Minami in Osaka, Atami in Shizuoka and Shinjuku in Tokyo.
According to the source material, the years for those stops are 1929, 1943, 1951 and 1965, in that order. RGG has said it plans more story trailers before launch, though no official statement on the schedule was available.
Release date and platforms
The game launches on January 15, 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, with PC versions on Steam and the Microsoft Store. It will also be available on Game Pass on day one. RGG confirmed the date at Summer Game Fest 2026, after earlier coverage of a winter release window for Heaven.
Steam’s listing was reported to show January 14, 2027 at one point. Sega’s own post says January 15.
Cast and other projects
Sega published the full cast on Xbox Wire on September 23. It includes Snoop Dogg, Ado, Tori Kelly and a computer-generated Bunta Sugawara, created with the consent of his family. Tupac Shakur was also confirmed for the game at Summer Game Fest.
Sega has also teamed with Netflix on adaptations of Stranger Than Heaven, Crazy Taxi and Sonic. More details on the Stranger Than Heaven adaptation have not yet been announced.
VGTimes reports the game has passed 1 million wishlists, which would be an RGG Studio record. That figure has not been confirmed by the studio. VGTimes also carries the trailer for those who want to watch it.
