After 18 years since the release ofShenmue 2on the Sega Dreamcast in Japan,Shenmue 3finally released in November 2019 to mixed reception from fans and critics. While some praised it for its faithfulness to the original series and its refreshing dedication to recreating exactly what made the Dreamcast games so great, many also thought that that exact dedication was to its detriment and that the series now felt outdated. While the success ofShenmue 3has been hard to gauge given that the game’s sales don’t include the copies sent to Kickstarter backers, it would not be too shocking to assume thatShenmue 3was not a financial powerhouse. Despite this, it seems that we may not have seen the last from Ryo Hazuki’s quest to avenge his father.
FrequentResident Evil: Villageand PlayStation 5 leaker Dusk Golem (also known as AestheticGamer) has teased that aShenmuerelated announcement is coming “within the next few weeks.” While Dusk Golem has not clarified what exactly the announcement will entail, he simply stated “Was told I can tease this: Anyone who cares aboutShenmueand its story, there’s a fun kinda' unexpected announcement coming within the next few weeks.”
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Furthermore, Dusk Golem clarified that “It’s not a Steam release orShenmue 3coming to another platform, it’s something new.” While there it nothing to go off so far, it seems that this upcoming announcement will not bein regards to some sort ofShenmue 4or any video game. As they have stated, it also does not appear to be in regards toShenmue 3being ported to any other systemssuch as the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Steam.
While Dusk Golem has had a rocky history with regards to leaking information about theSilent Hillfranchise and the PlayStation 5 in the past, this seems like a rather confusing story to fabricate given the fact that Ys Net, the developer ofShenmue 3, has been silent since the release ofShenmue 3’s DLC earlier this year. It is possible that this could be story DLC forShenmue 3, but that seems unlikely given that Dusk Golen claims it is “something new.”
Many have speculated that it could bean anime continuing the story of theShenmuesagaor a manga, asShenmue 2received a manga tying the first and second games together before it was released. Regardless, it appears that whateverShenmueannouncement is on the horizon, it will likely play a vital role in continuing Yu Suzuki’s 11 chapter plan for the story of the series, which we will hopefully hear about sooner rather than later.
Shenmue 3is out now for PC and PlayStation 4.
