It took nearly two decades for Shenmue III to finally see the light of day on PlayStation 4 after the series was abandoned following the SEGA Dreamcast's second entry, but could a fourth instalment be coming sooner than we think? One of the Ys Net support teams who worked on Shenmue III, Lakshya Digital, recently suggested that Shenmue IV is about to enter development.
Rather bizarrely, this news comes from a Facebook post made last year on 14th December which has only just started to gain some traction. In it, Lakshya Digital thanks Ys Net for being given the chance to work on Shenmue III as well as congratulating the developer on the title's release. The team then signs off by saying: "We look forward to working on Shenmue IV very soon!"
Of course, this is by no means confirmation that a fourth entry is actually on its way, but it is interesting that the studio threw the claim about so casually on social media. Lakshya Digital influenced the art direction and character production of Shenmue III, so the team quite clearly played its part in managing to replicate the old-school feel of its predecessors. The franchise was always pitched as consisting of 11 chapters, which the third entry didn't reach the end of. Therefore, the possibility of a Shenmue IV is something that could very much become a reality should there be enough support and monetary funds to justify its release.
Do you think Shenmue IV is on its way? Play a game of Lucky Hit in the comments below.
[source facebook.com, via resetera.com]
Comments 22
We can always dream.
I see.
[I hate your character minimum for Shenmue posts because 'I see.' fits perfectly - always]
@GamingFan4Lyf Haha, maybe we should add an exception specifically for that phrase.
Really? And who's bankrolling this considering virtually nobody bought Shenmue 3?
It just sounds like something they would like to happen given their positive experiencing working on Shenmue III, rather than stating something that is actually happening.
That's amazing news hopefully it'll becomes a reality and not just a dream like Shenmue 3 was for a long time
By the time it comes out I'll probably be dead like Ryo's dad.
that looked like a classic final fantasy poster for a hot second
Can't wait for Shenmue VII in 2097 where Ryo carries a huge sword around in his search for Lan Di.
Make it happen - or put up the funding page. Lets not wait another lifetime to make #4.
Shenmue 3 and FLIPgrip for my Switch are by far the 2 best funding campaigns I been part of. 100% would support them again.
I played the first shenmue and couldn't last at least 1 hour because of the painfully slow pace of the game. I love story driven titles but this one... I'm not surprised the third entry was lackluster compared to other games, in my humble opinion this is a franchise with no future.
Despite my love for the culture and story behind the making of these games, I couldn't really get into them so this is not something I care much for.
That being said I would love a fourth game to come out as the superb fandom behind the series deserve it, would love to see how they could fund a project like this however after barely scraping past the finish line with Shenmue 3.
I see.
I thought the 3rd game was made specifically to round of the trilogy and finish the story?
I finished shenmue 1 but barely started 2. Trying to play them back to back was a mistake as i needed games with action after a while lol i think ive been spoiled by the Yakuza series.
I hope for a 4th but I hope they approach it differently.
The third game needed to be a call back and be super nostalgic but 4 needs to bring the game to the 21st century and modernise things - and offer some way of catching up on 1-3 to keep the story open to new people
I hope they don't resort to Kickstarter again. I just don't think it would pan out for them the same way this time.
But hell yes, Shenmue IV! I'll buy it day one.
Shenmue 4? Yes, "I'll take it"
Shenmue 4, it'll just be about Ryo in 3 villages asking people about sailors and gangsters again then he fought Landi, failed and rinse and repeat. C'mon Suzuki evolve Ryo already, he needs to become a martial art master by the next game or else he'll never beat Landi.
@Alexface no, the director was clear from the beginning of the kickstarter that 3 would not be an ending to the story. But people don't know how to read or do research so everyone reported on it like it was a finale.
@carlos82 everyone who kickstarted it bought it. They just paid for it 4 years in advance so no one needed to pay for a copy in 2019.
I bought it in 2019, still in the wrapper. I hope they make 4.
@techaspike well that's an extra 69,320 sales then, regardless of whether you like the game, the franchise has always been a massive failure. I still have the first 2 on my Dreamcast and loved the original and still enjoy it now and may well pick up the third when it comes down in price. Yet the series as a viable product with the budget it needs, doesn't seem realistic to me
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