With the upcoming release of the remastered versions of Shenmue I & II, it appears we also will receive new information regarding Shenmue III. According to an update posted by Ys Net on Shenmue III’s Kickstarter page fans can expect breaking news on the game on Tuesday, August 21st, at 11:00-1:00 pm (CEST) at this years Gamescom. Shenmue doesn’t have an official release date, although it’s still labeled as quarter one of 2019.
When the Shenmue series first launched in 1999 on the Sega Dreamcast fans fell in love with its open world setting, which proved to be first of its kind in the modern era of gaming. Although Shenmue I and II were launched in the West on the Dreamcast and original Xbox respectively, the third game had never come to fruition due to the games being a massive commercial favor. In fact, the first game was always doomed for failure; to even break even from development costs every Dreamcast owner would have needed to buy not just one but two copies.
Sony announced its publishing deal with Kickstarter project Shenmue III at E3 in 2015, given fans hope the series story can conclude and finally leave development hell. This will be the first major update since the disaster that was its first gameplay teaser. Hopefully, we will see more encouraging news regarding the game's launch. Afterall, the turbulent series certainly could use a silver lining after years of disappointment fans endured.
