Shenmue 3 will release next summer

Update, August 21: The Shenmue III release date has been officially announced at Gamescom 2018.

A release date for Shenmue 3 has just been announced at Gamescom. In a new trailer, introduced at Gamescom by game director Yu Suzuki, we got a look at a new trailer, narrated by recurring character Shenhua Ling, which revealed that, sadly, you’ve still got quite a while to wait until you can get your hands on the long-awaited third instalment in the trilogy. The trailer doesn’t tell us an awful lot in and of itself, but what we do now know, courtesy of Suzuki, is that although sixteen years have passed in real life, Shenmue 3 will pick up almost exactly where the previous game left off, with the narrative beginning just a single day after the end of the previous instalment. What’s important, however, is when you’ll actually get to experience that narrative. Sadly, as I mentioned above, you’ve still got a while to wait, as the Shenmue 3 release date is more than a year away - at the end of the trailer, it was confirmed that the game will release on August 27, 2019. Series director Yu Suzuki told Kickstarter backers, "we are very sorry for the delay. After much discussion with our partners, Deep Silver, we have concluded that extending the release will allow us to deliver Shenmue III at its best. We promise to use this time to improve the quality of Shenmue III. We cannot thank you enough for your enduring support." It's certainly not the first delay Shenmue III has received. In June 2017 (see original story, below) Suzuki revealed that the game had been pushed to late 2018. Now, one year later, the game has been delayed again to 2019. At least PC owners should be getting some Shenmue this year, as SEGA plan to re-release both Shenmue I and II in 2018 - unless that gets pushed back too.