Report: Lost Judgment May Be Final Game In The Series Due To PC Image Rights Dispute

Lost Judgment, the sequel to 2018's Judgment, may be the final game in the series according to a new report by Nikkan Taishu. According to the Japanese entertainment site, the problem stems from talent agency Johnny & Associates reportedly wanting to block the game from being published on PC via Steam, so as to protect the likeness rights of its client and the face of Judgement, actor Takuya Kimura.

Curiously, Lost Judgment was listed for Windows 10 and Steam on its when it was first announced, in addition to PlayStation and Xbox consoles. While those listings were removed, Twitter's Wario64 noted that the website code still contained a Steam logo.

When asked about the report, a Sega representative said the company did not have a comment. We'll continue to monitor this story if and when it makes a definitive statement.

For Sega, losing Kimura would be a huge blow as the actor has star power in Japan. Johnny & Associates functions as a powerful boy band agency in the cutthroat world of Japanese entertainment and had a notorious anti-Internet attitude. Music Times via Kotaku noted that the company took two years to create a YouTube channel for its talent, which finally went live in 2018.

Sega stands to lose more by ignoring the PC market however for its upcoming legal suspense drama. The company has focused efforts on not only releasing games developed in Japan into western markets more quickly, but also onto PC via Steam and has seen great success lately.

Persona 4 Golden did especially well on PC, selling over 1 million copies globally after it was released on June 13, 2020, as an example.

For now, Lost Judgment and its moody opening cinematic is still scheduled to release worldwide on September 24, 2021, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.