Shenmue 4 PS5 PlayStation 5 1

Shenmue 3 was a strange game in hindsight. While this author was rather enamoured with its commitment to the legendary series’ plodding pacing, there’s no doubt that it failed to meaningfully move the franchise’s narrative forward – a bizarre decision, considering just how long we waited to play the threequel.

There was always hope, of course, that the revival would do just well enough to demand a sequel, and chatter online suggests it may be getting the go-ahead. It’s really loose, wishful stuff, but it all stems from creator Yu Suzuki’s recent appearance at publisher 110 Industries’ Tokyo Game Show press conference.

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While this company is unlikely to be a household name to many of you, it’s behind the upcoming Wanted: Dead, a hyper-violent character action title helmed by Ninja Gaiden veteran Hiroaki Matsui. Asked exactly why Suzuki has been keeping company with the organisation, a spokesperson effectively said “guess”.

This prompted an article by Game Rant, which was shared by famous fansite Shenmue Dojo. The fansite said: “While it’s only a rumour, this is still appropriate.” To which a representative for 110 Industries spotted the post and responded, “No comment.” So, there’s basically nothing to go on at this stage, then, but curious nonetheless.

Ys Net does have much of the engine built and gameplay systems in place to create another Shenmue game now, it all just depends on whether it’s commercially viable. Shenmue 3 did extremely well on Kickstarter but was a bit of a disaster at retail, however a successful Crunchyroll adaptation has recently raised the profile of the property. Obviously, if it does happen, we’ll be first in line.

[source instagram.com, via gamerant.com, twitter.com]