Is Shenmue 4 Already Under Development?

General news News PC PC News PlayStation PlayStation News 01/10/2020

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As Shenmue III wasn’t the end of the story (oh, we’re far from that…), it’s a question of time when it gets announced: Ryo’s plot is going to continue.

Back in 2015, during Shenmue III’s Kickstarter campaign, Yu Suzuki wrote in a Reddit Ask Me Anything that he wants to complete the eleven chapters of the story in either four or five games. Then, during the staff credits of Shenmue III, there’s a letter from the creator of the franchise: „For as long as there are those who wish to see Shenmue live on, I will never give up on my own personal journey to complete its story. As with Shenmue 3, the Shenmue story is with you. I sincerely hope that, together, we can continue to spin the tale of Ryo and his adventures in Shenmue 4.”

Lakshya Digital enters the picture at this point. This studio does 3D, 2D art and animation work, and they helped Ys Net with the development of Shenmue III. Back in mid-December, they wrote this: „Lakshya congratulates YS Net Inc. on the release of Shenmue III. It was an honour for Lakshya to work on this iconic game. Many lucky ones from Lakshya got the opportunity to create 83 characters over a period of almost one year. It is thanks to the confidence placed in us by Yu Suzuki san, CEO, YS Net Inc, and the entire team, that we could be true partners and provide effective solutions to deliver high-quality content at the best value. We look forward to working on Shenmue IV very soon!”

So Lakshya already knows something – Deep Silver (or their owners, Embracer Group AB) potentially considered Shenmue III a success, even if it wasn’t a critically acclaimed title (but it did satisfy the needs of the fans!), so maybe we won’t have to wait nearly two decades for the sequel, as Shenmue 2 launched in 2001 on SEGA Dreamcast, followed by an Xbox port a year later.

Shenmue IV, if it’s in development, could be a next-gen title, meaning it might show up on PlayStation 5 and Xbox (Series X).

Source: PSU, VGC

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Angyal Anikó

Anikó, our news editor and communication manager, is more interested in the business side of the gaming industry. She worked at banks, and she has a vast knowledge of business life. Still, she likes puzzle and story-oriented games, like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is her favourite title. She also played The Sims 3, but after accidentally killing a whole sim family, swore not to play it again. (For our office address, email and phone number check out our IMPRESSUM)