As part of their apology, JustAFan1 also posted some evidence of being the actual creator of the fake Shenmue 4 trailer through a link that was essentially a newer, updated version of the trailer. The changes in this new version included new music and footage, as well as their apology.

“I just wanted to set the record straight for all those who think it might still be half real,” they wrote in their apology on the Shenmue Dojo forums. “It’s not.”

“I know many of you will want to hang me for dashing your hopes, but know this was not done out of malice, but love for Shenmue. I realize I went about it the wrong way, and I apologize for that. But I hope all the media attention this has received will do something to convince investors that Shenmue is very much alive and profitable if approached correctly.”

In the trailer itself, they had a longer statement of apology, noting that they are simply a fan of the Shenmue franchise and have no official afficilation with YS Net. “I want to be absolutely clear: I am merely a fan of the series and have absolutely no professional or personal affiliation with Ys Net, nor have I ever had any,” reads the statement. “The creation and release of the trailer, which presented itself as an official piece of promotional material recorded behind the scenes, was a lapse in judgment. I take full responsibility for this action.”

The goal of the video, noted JustAFan1, was to “demonstrate a sustained and substantial market demand and community enthusiasm” for a new game in the franchise. “I meant no harm to Ys Net, its brand, or its loyal fans. My motivation was to champion the series and help encourage its continuation, not to mislead or create distress.”

“While my intent was centered on a positive outcome, the method I chose to achieve it was misleading and unprofessional. I deeply regret creating and sharing information that was not factual, and I understand the negative impact this misinformation had.”

The apology comes in light of YS Net having announced that the studio had nothing to do with the fake Shenmue 4 trailer, and that its use of copyrighted materials also gives the studio grounds to pursue legal action. Whether it will actually pursue these actions in light of the trailer’s creator’s apology is currently unknown, however.

“We are currently working with relevant parties and preparing appropriate measures, including potential legal action,” it wrote. “We sincerely apologize to our fans and all related parties for any confusion this may have caused. We continue to ensure the proper anda ccurate dissemination of information, and we ask for your understanding and cooperation.”

In the meantime, Shenmue 3 Enhanced is slated for release on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo platforms, with owners of the title’s original release on PS4 and PC getting the option to upgrade to the newer version. It doesn’t yet have a release date, however.

“YS Net has confirmed that a video has been posted on social media which uses our company logo without permission, falsely giving the impression that it is an official ‘Shenmue 4’ related video produced by us,” wrote the company in its statement on socail media. “This video has absolutely no connection to YS Net. Furthermore, at this time, YS Net has not released any trailers, footage, or other promotional materials related to ‘Shenmue 4’.”

Further in the statement, the studio has noted that the video claiming to be a trailer for Shenmue 4 has been using materials that are subject to trademark and copyright law. This means that the release of the video “may amount trademark infringement and unfair competition.” This, wrote the studio, gives it grounds to potentially pursue legal action.

“We are currently working with relevant parties and preparing appropriate measures, including potential legal action,” it wrote. “We sincerely apologize to our fans and all related parties for any confusion this may have caused. We continue to ensure the proper anda ccurate dissemination of information, and we ask for your understanding and cooperation.”

Interestingly, while this statement saw quite a few responses on social media praising the studio’s previous works, there have also been a few fans of the Shenmue franchise asking the studio to reconsider any potential legal action it might take. “Yes, the trailer was fake and sparked misleading hopes,” wrote one fan. “However, it also revitalized a momentum, a vision how Shenmue 4 may look like, sparked interest from the media and a broader audience. It was a good thing for the IP [sic].”

While the long-running Shenmue franchise certainly has plenty of fans, the fact that Shenmue 3’s story still left plenty of plot threads dangling means that these fans have been waiting for closure on the story. However, back in 2022, Suzuki had noted that he didn’t have any “concrete plans” for a fourth game in the series. Since this was a statement from 3 years ago, things might have changed and YS Net might even have a new game in the works that it just isn’t yet ready to unveil.

More recently, YS Net had announced in August that it was working on Shenmue 3 Enhanced for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo platforms. The release will also include an option for PS4 and PC owners of Shenmue 3 to get an upgrade to the new version. It doesn’t yet have any release date announced. Some of the features in Shenmue 3 Enhanced include more characters in Niaowu, quicker load times, higher resolution textures, and support for modern technologies like DLSS and FSR.

Recently, publisher 110 Industries seemed to be teasing a collaboration with Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki for the development of Shenmue 4, but it seems that that’s not set in stone. Speaking in an interview with Famitsu (via VGC), Suzuki said that as of yet, right now, there are no concrete plans in place for another new Shenmue game.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean that no talks are ongoing behind-the-scenes with potential partners, it does indicate that fans should keep their expectations in check for now. Meanwhile, Suzuki also added that if there were to be a Shenmue 4, he would want it to have much broader and more mass market appeal than previous games in the series, echoing similar earlier statements.

Of course, the overarching story of Shenmue is far from over, so fans will certainly be hoping that concrete news of a sequel arrives not long from now. At the very least, the hope is that it won’t be another 18 years between instalments.

It seems, however, that series fans might have something to look forward to again soon enough. As reported by Game Rant, publisher 110 Industries – who’re working on upcoming action games Vengeance is Mine and Wanted: Dead – might be hinting at a collaboration with Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki for the development of Shenmue 4.

For context, Suzuki was a part of 110 Industries’ last Tokyo Game Show panel, which stood out to more than a few people, especially given the fact that the two haven’t really had much of a shared history until now. When prompted in a comment on a recent Instagram post to work with Suzuki to make Shenmue 4 a reality, 110 Industries replied, “Guess why he was at our TGS stream.”

If that’s not a strong enough hint for you, not long afterward, in response to a tweet about this very rumour, the publisher responded – completely unprompted – with a simple “No comment.” The two responses don’t necessarily prove anything in a concrete fashion, but one would think that if the publisher had no involvement with the project, it would simply choose to not talk about it.

Of course, given that nothing has been officially confirmed, there’s a good chance that this doesn’t come to anything- but it’s certainly something that’ll give Shenmue fans some hope for the future (though that anime’s been good food for the soul as well).

If Shenmue 4 does get made, it’ll probably need a new publisher. Shenmue 3 publisher Deep Silver has said that the game performed below expectations, and that it isn’t a game with mass market appeal. Suzuki himself has said that if a sequel does get made, it’ll probably need to have broader appeal than its predecessors- read more on that through here.

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The series is now easier than ever to get into since the original two games were smartly released in a modern collection last year for fans both new and old for the third game’s impending release, and I strongly recommend playing through the previous two games before playing Shenmue 3, as the third installment largely operates under the assumption that you’re very familiar with the story. There is a handy recap video you can watch though, so while Shenmue 3 doesn’t totally leave newcomers out in the cold, it does pick up right after 2 lets off, so the more experience you have with the previous two games, the better your experience with the third one is likely to be.

"So while it’s hard to totally let the game off the hook for some these out-dated oddities, it’s also impossible to not have at least some respect for such a deliberate devotion to continuity, modern expectations be damned."

It’s not long after the game starts up when you’re put right back in Ryo’s shoes and you’re running around a small town asking questions and gathering clues. Occasionally stopping to feed yourself and/or indulge in a game, of course. If you enjoyed that gameplay in the previous two games, then you’ll be right at home dusting off that mindset for Shenmue 3. Shenmue’s particular brand of following trails of conversational breadcrumbs to inch your way through a story while occasionally getting distracted by games or side-stories feels pretty much just as it did in the previous two games. In fact, the same can be said about nearly all of Shenmue 3, right down to the wonky voice acting, blocky controls, and long stretches of downtime that only a game like Shenmue can hope to get away with.

While the perpetuation of the various quirks and tropes that the Shemue games are known for will certainly limit Shenmue 3’s appeal for many newcomers, it will probably feel like putting on an old, cozy sweater for those who did connect with the original two, and that is clearly it’s purpose. While many of the game’s core elements benefit from this mentality in a superficial way, it certainly doesn’t do the gameplay many favors during combat, which is fundamentally stiff and repetitive. It also doesn’t help when you’re getting hung up on corners of tables or other objects, often bringing Ryo to a complete stop, or while you’re trying to navigate obtuse menus. Or when you have to stop and hold the left trigger to zoom in on an herb then press an action button just pick it up. And why exactly does R1 have to be the inventory button? Why?

So while it’s hard to totally let the game off the hook for some these out-dated oddities, it’s also impossible to not have at least some respect for such a deliberate devotion to continuity, modern expectations be damned. Ultimately, how much these things bother you will largely depend on your personal attachment to the series, and what you expect from it in 2019. As a Shenmue fan myself, once the nostalgia wore off, I personally found that most of these quirks felt mildly bothersome to straight up annoying at their worst. Nothing ruined my fun of being back in the world of Shenmue, but at the same time, it does create a ceiling for itself in a way by not embracing many of the modern ingredients that open world games of today include to help everything go down smoother.

"The first few hours of the game has you running around some very similar looking environments, but rest assured it does open up into a wider world with more variety eventually."

Perhaps the biggest overhaul from the previous two games is, expectedly, in the graphics and overall visual presentation, which did turn out nicely. This is an area where Shenmue 3 couldn’t afford to passively lean on the previous two games quite so heavily, and thankfully, for the most part, Shenmue 3 is notably a huge step up from its predecessors. I’m not sure how much credit the game deserves for this considering how much time has passed since the last installment, but for what it’s worth, it’s nice to see these characters realized on modern hardware. Many smaller movements with mouths and hands are fairly wonky, and frankly the game doesn’t quite look like what most would consider to be “current-gen” but there’s no denying the improvements in draw distance, lighting, and color depth, and what all of that brings to the experience.

It’s often easy to have the vistas of the various areas of Shenmue 3 added to the game’s long list of amusing distractions. Character models are serviceable most of the time, especially for the main characters, although I feel like some of the design styles are inconsistent. The main characters are fairly realistic and have basically normal proportions while some character’s faces look more like they were designed in We Happy Few. It’s not a huge deal but it can be a little distracting. Other than that, the graphics are a nice touch for the series, undoubtedly helped along by the folks over at Deep Silver, who have proven to be quite efficient with the Unreal 4 Engine. The first few hours of the game has you running around some very similar looking environments, but rest assured it does open up into a wider world with more variety eventually.

Shenmue 3’s sound design is also well put together with some familiar voices and a fitting soundtrack that are both sure to hearten long-time fans of the series, but it is a shame that they didn’t really go any further than that with any notable sound effect work or outstanding music tracks. It would have been nice to hear some more in-depth subtle sounds during fights or even while just walking around and picking stuff up, but overall, all the audio that’s here definitely works in terms of sounding like the previous games, and it certainly evokes the right tone, especially with the score itself.

There’s not a whole lot that can be said about the story without getting into spoiler territory, but it is undoubtedly a Shenmue story. Clues lead to bigger clues which eventually lead to revelations, and the process repeats throughout the game. I suspect the ending won’t feel as conclusive as some fans were expecting, but Shenmue has always been a series that is more about the journey than the destination anyway. Much like the gameplay and the presentation, Shenmue 3’s story is more of a love-letter to the fans than it is anything else. And how much that will appeal to you will depend on whether or not that’s what you’re looking for.

"If you want to play a game that refuses to bend to the will of modern expectations to deliver a more pure fan-driven experience, for better and for worse, Shenmue 3 has got you covered."

Overall Shenmue 3 is an experience that fans of the series are likely to enjoy. Will it bring in many newcomers though? Not nearly as likely. But the game makes it pretty clear it’s not too interested in that anyway. This is a Shenmue game for Shenmue fans, and while much of its gameplay definitely could have benefitted from more modernization in an objective sense, having so many of the essential elements of the original games completely intact like this do give it a sense of purpose and character that most modern iterations of older franchises lack.

If you’re looking for a modern interpretation or an evolution of an older franchise, you’re better off looking at something else. But if you want to play a game that refuses to bend to the will of modern expectations to deliver a more pure fan-driven experience, for better and for worse, Shenmue 3 has got you covered.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

The legendary Yu Suzuki put out a lot of industry defining games, but his crown jewel was undoubtedly Shenmue. And this week, the long abandoned story of that franchise finally gets to continue, thanks to Shenmue 3’s unlikely launch.

We already know that Shenmue 3 does not mark the end of the story for the series. We also know that Suzuki does intend to try to have future sequels developed as well. However, that is now a pledge that he has officially made to fans, in the credits for Shenmue 3.

Said credits include a letter to fans from Suzuki, which promises them that he will keep trying to follow through on his ambition of finishing this story, for as long as there are fans that want him to do that.

“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,” the letter says.

“I sincerely hope that, together, we can continue to spin the tale of Ryo and his adventures in Shenmue 4.”

I do hope he gets to do that, and that Shenmue 3, freed of the obligation to try and prop up a failing console, will be deemed a better success on its terms than its predecessors ever were.

Shenmue 3 might have been caught up in the middle of a controversy due to its exclusivity to the Epic Games Store, but as the long, long-awaited return of a beloved cult-classic franchise – one that left things off on a cliffhanger, no less – it’s still a game that a lot of people are looking forward to with giddy anticipation.

This, however, is not going to be the end of Ryo’s story as much as it is going to be a continuation- but will we have to wait as long for a sequel to Shenmue 3 as we’ve had to for one for Shenmue 2? Yu Suzuki, the series’ creator and the director of the upcoming title, says he would like to be able to finish telling Ryo’s story. As per him, if Shenmue 3 sells well, moving ahead to the next game in the series will be much easier.

“If Shenmue 3 sells well it will make things easier [with Shenmue 4],” he said while speaking with VGC. “But I think it will rely more on what kind of partners we will be able to secure.”

Shenmue 3 is out for the PS4 and PC on November 19. A trial version of the game for Kickstarter backers will be out in September. In the meantime, check out its most recent trailer through here.