Yakuza 4  is an action-adventure game developed and released by Sega for the PlayStation 3. The game was introduced on July 24, 2009. A promotional video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, The sequel to Yakuza 3, it was released on March 18, 2010 in Japan after a playable demo was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store on March 5 Yakuza 4 was released in Europe and North America in March 2011. A sequel, Yakuza 5 was released in 2012.

A remaster was released on the PlayStation 4 on January 17, 2019 in Japan, and worldwide on October 29, 2019 as part of The Yakuza Remastered Collection. Versions for Windows and Xbox One were released in January 2021. Because Hiroki Narimiya retired from acting due to allegations of drug use, the role of Tanimura was recast with Toshiki Masuda taking over.

The available mini-games are pachinko, fishing, onsen, massage, table tennis, hanafuda and karaoke, including duets with non-player characters (NPCs). In Haruka's Wish, the player must raise Haruka's trust level. Each main character has a side game or goal which must be completed, and many side games are related to trophies.

Akiyama may create a friendship with some NPCs by buying their items, or with some storekeepers by being a regular customer. His other mission, is to scout girls for the cabaret he owns. A girl is improved by dressing her up and training her. After she becomes number one, the player can choose a final outfit for her and she will appear at the cabaret. A similar challenge in the Japanese version of Yakuza 3 was cut from overseas versions and was reintroduced for its remastered edition.

Saejima's mission, is to train fighters to win tournaments after 50 rounds or less of training (building up movesets). Different movesets allow different moves to be performed.

Tanimura's mission , is to keep the peace on the streets of Kamurocho. Radio reports tell him where to find incidents, and the player must defeat the perpetrator. In Kiryu's mission, Team Encounter Battle , seven gangs attack him and he must fight to reach each gang leader.

Each character has his own style of fighting and special moves as their body frames are different. Kiryu focuses on the powerful blows of Karate and Boxing, Akiyama prefers swift attacks using Taekwondo, Saejima favors powerful and slow brawling/grappling attacks using wrestling techniques, and Tanimura uses the defensive maneuvers of Aikido and Jiu Jitsu that he learned from his time at the police academy.