Inin Games and Ys Net have announced that they received the publishing rights for Shenmue 3 from the game’s previous publisher, Deep Silver. Inin Games has also teased more plans for Shenmue 3.
“Inin Games is excited to shepherd Shenmue 3 into its next phase,” they said in a statement. “This collaboration marks the beginning of a new chapter for Shenmue 3, with Inin Games working closely alongside Ys Net to honor the series’ legacy while ensuring its accessibility to even more fans around the world.”
It’s unclear what plans Inin Games and Ys Net have in store for Shenmue 3, but it’s possible that it could come to additional platforms such as Xbox and Switch. The game has been a console exclusive for PlayStation since 2019, as Sony helped fund the game.
In 2022, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki said that he’d make Shenmue 4 more approachable if given the chance to develop it. Although Shenmue 3 ends on a cliffhanger, he explained that a follow-up could tell a story completely separate from the events of that game. Earlier this year, Shenmue fans bought a 15-second ad on a Times Square video billboard to campaign for a Shenmue 4, which managed to briefly get Shenmue trending on Twitter.
Shenmue 3 is currently available on PS4 and PC. In GameSpot’s Shenmue 3 review, we said, “Unfortunately, while it’s fascinating as a weird curiosity from a long-gone era of gaming, it’s simply not that fun to actually play.”