Ys Net has an announcement planned for Shenmue 3 on Gamescom 2018’s opening day. In an update on the game’s Kickstarter, the developer said it would have “breaking news” on August 21st from 11 AM to 1 PM CEST. Series creator Yu Suzuki won’t be attending, but a short video will be presented. Currently, the developer is busy adding the “final touches” to said video.

Though the events at Gamescom will be live-streamed on the official site, you can expect the announcement video to be released separately. As for its contents, we have all kinds of hopes. Gameplay? An extended demo? A brand new story trailer? A release date announcement? All of these and possibly more?

After all, since its announcement at Sony’s E3 2015 conference, Shenmue 3 has seen its share of delays. Its latest release date was meant to be this year, but Ys Net shifted it to 2019. Regardless, it seems like the long-awaited sequel has seen some major development, so we can’t wait for more at Gamescom.

Gamescom 2018 starts on August 21st and lasts until August 25th. Other games you can expect to see include Housemarque’s Stormdivers and Dontnod’s Life is Strange 2.

Shenmue 3 has been very successful in its Kickstarter run, and it has just now reached its $ 7 million stretch goal. As a result, the game’s developers Ys Net have now announced that an expanded AI battling system will be added to the game as part of meeting this stretch goal.

This expanded battle system will allow players to automatically use the “perfect technique” based on the position of an enemy and distance. We learn that the concept behind the system is from Yu Suzuki, the game’s director, and that the aim is that even those not used to fighting games will be able to be fully immersed in the game’s battle system. The developers also included a new screenshot, which showcases the protagonist Ryo engaged in battle. It certainly looks like the developers are doing their best to ensure that this game remains accessible to a wide audience. Hopefully, we’ll soon get to see some actual gameplay footage of how the expanded battle system works.

Ys Net have also announced some new info on whether or nor the game will have a proper disc based release on both, PS4 and PC, which is apparently something they’ve been questioned about quite a bit. Ys Net have assured fans that the game will indeed have a physical launch, and that it won’t just contain a prompt to download the game online.

You can check out the new screenshot released below. Shenmue 3 is set to release in 2019 for the PC and PS4.

Development of the game was handed over to Neilo by Yu Suzuki, the director and producer of both Shenmue and Shenmue II. Yu Suzuki has the rights to make the game, after being allowed to do so by series publisher Sega.

Shenmue III, which is running on the powerful Unreal Engine 4, will launch by December 2017 for PC and PS4. It’s not yet clear if the game will come to Xbox One, though recent stretch goals in the game’s Kickstarter have hinted that this could be the case.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

Shenmue III has been a highly sought after title for many gamers for quite some time, following the success of the two original titles which introduced mainstream gaming to quick time events.

Thus far, the game seems is being brought back through the sheer will of the video game community. This is evidenced by the fact that series director and producer, Yu Suzuki decided to fund the game through the Kickstarter platform. The response from the gaming community was unprecedented and the game quickly secured its funding, smashing numerous crowd funding records along the way.

The game’s official Kickstarter campaign was announced on June 15th of 2015 during the Sony E3 press conference in Los Angeles, California.

This accomplishment was soon mired by alleged money moving without public knowledge, contrary to the terms of the original Kickstarter post. These claims were partially legitimized an updated FAQ on the games page, an excerpt of which reads, “We are very sorry, but due to contractual obligations, details of outside investments will not be disclosed.”

Since then, excitement remains because of the game’s success, but many are of the mindset that this entire experience is nothing but a PR stunt to, A) Fund the game and B) Test the waters for AAA studios using crowdfunding rather than traditional funding avenues.

Yu Suzuki handed the games development to Neilo, a fairly small developer in the grand state of the industry, but Suzuki has commented on his decision, saying that it’s all to do with preserving the game’s cultural aspects. When asked why he didn’t partner with a western developer, Suzuki said, “There was that option, yes. But the biggest characteristic of Shenmue is culture.”

It has been confirmed that Shenmue III will actually have a smaller game world than that of it’s 2001 predecessor, Shenmue II. Suzuki has said that he will be focusing on creating a smaller and more detailed world, opposed to a large and somewhat barren feeling game world. Speaking about this, Suzuki said, “Ever since [Shenmue II] I always had decided that ‘for the next game, I’m going to go much deeper.’”

The game’s development team is said to feature staff from the original team and Masaya Matsukaze has also been confirmed to be returning to the game to voice protagonist Ryo Hazuki

Story

Shenmue III is a direct sequel to Shenmue II, as such the game picks up straight after the ending of Shenmue II. Plot details remain vague at this point, but we know that the game will follow returning characters Ryo Hazuki and Ling Shen Hua, as they try to uncover their shared destiny, but along the way we will also be introduced to a new antagonist that is known as Niao Sun.

Given that the game picks up where Shenmue II left off, Ryo Hazuki has arrived at Guilin, searching for the person that killed his father.

Gameplay

At the time of writing, gameplay specifics and mechanics have not been addressed. We simply know that the game will feature a Day and Night mechanic, a weather system, possible free form combat (Assassin’s Creed, Batman Arkham Series) and Ryo’s journal might return. Speaking about the Journal, Yu Suzuki has said,”I would like to bring back the Journal. That is an interesting idea, I will look into it.”

Characters

Thus far, these are the characters we know about.

• Ryo Hazuki – Shenmue protagonist, searching for his father’s killer.
• Ling Shen Hua – A mysterious girl with a fate seemingly tied to Ryo.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.