Summary
- The Like A Dragon DLC for Dave the Diver will only be available for six months after its April 10, 2025, release date.
- Director Jaeho Hwang mentioned the limited time could be due to a collaboration agreement with Sega, the series’ publisher.
- Fans voiced disappointment on social media, with some criticizing the decision and others understanding the release restriction.
Dave the Diver developer Mintrocket announced that the game’s upcoming DLC crossover with Like A Dragon comes with a major caveat, in that it will only be available for a limited time. First released in 2023, Dave the Diver brought cheery fishing and an appealing pixel art underwater aesthetic to fans.
Despite seemingly humble beginnings as a cozy, relaxed underwater fishing game, Dave the Diver has exploded in popularity and surpassed sales milestones since its release. The game was even on the slate for major accolades, including a controversial nomination for Best Independent Game at The Game Awards 2023. The game has since gone on to influence and even cross over with multiple other notable titles, like the hit indie title, Balatro.

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Unfortunately for fans, the game’s latest crossover, the Like A Dragon DLC for Dave the Diver, will only be available for a short time. In an announcement video, Director Jaeho Hwang of Mintrocket confirmed that the pack will only be available for six months after it releases for all platforms on April 10, 2025. That means that fans will have until around October 10, 2025, to purchase the Dave the Diver: Ichiban’s Holiday DLC, after which it will become unavailable. Once purchased, though, the DLC will be playable at any time, for as long as its owners please.
Dave the Diver Like A Dragon DLC Only Available for 6 Months After Release
Hwang didn’t get into specifics about exactly why Ichiban’s Holiday has a limited availability window, but acknowledged that the news will be disappointing to many fans. He mentioned that the DLC was a “special collaboration,” implying that the limited period may have been set in place by Sega, which publishes and develops the Like A Dragon series. As the owner of the series, Sega would undoubtedly have a say in how to represent Like A Dragon protagonist Ichiban Kasuga and other series characters, and for how long.
Limited-time crossovers aren’t unusual in the game industry, but they usually appear in live service games, not single-player titles like Dave the Diver. Reaction to the announcement on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit was a general sense of disappointment, but otherwise understanding. Many Dave the Diver fans recognized that the DLC was quite substantial, and voiced their intent to pick it up while it’s available. Others criticized Sega, saying that insisting on such a limited window “leaves money on the table.” Some likened the situation to the 2020 Streets of Rage and Like A Dragon crossover game Streets of Kamurocho, which was only available for a handful of days during Sega’s 60th Anniversary celebration.
Whatever the case, fans will only have a few months to pick up Dave the Diver: Ichiban’s Holiday. Those who are new to the game itself might also want to consider picking it up soon, so as not to miss out on as complete a Dave the Diver experience as possible.
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