On Thursday 04 December, a forum user by the name of Nomura_79 posted a link to a supposedly leaked Shenmue IV trailer, due to be shown at The Game Awards. Speculation and excitement quickly began to spread around Discord and social media, with fans poring over this potential glimpse of the long-requested fourth game in the series.
Recorded off of a separate screen, this work in progress “trailer” shows a staggering amount of story details and cutscenes in what appears to be a very similar graphical style to Shenmue III. Whilst the quality is what you would expect from a screen recording, the footage gives us a good enough glimpse and looks suprisingly far along in development, showcasing a variety of cutscenes, character interactions, locations and gameplay, ending with the Shenmue IV title and a 2026 release date.
Anyone familiar with the Chapter Cards will recognise the Cliff Temple, Suzhou, and Baisha, along with crucial moments like Shenhua unleashing her powers, Ryo training with the monks of the Temple, and a character who appears to be Ziming Hong allying himself with Lan Di. Indeed, the entire trailer is jam-packed with moments that fans have long dreamed of seeing… and that’s where the problem lies; it’s almost too good to be true!
As several members of the community have stated over the last few days, this is exactly what many fans would want from Shenmue IV: a story-focused game centred on the Chi You Men and Iwao’s past that would significantly progress the series as a whole. The trailer is a veritable wishlist of things fans have been asking for or speculating about for decades at this point. It’s almost as if someone took the artwork from some of the Chapter Cards and ran it through a computer… and that’s exactly what people began to think had happened.
In typical Shenmue fashion, fans began to analyse and pick apart the leaked trailer to try and get to the bottom of it. It wasn’t long before people noticed visual discrepencies and effects common with AI generated videos, leading to questions about whether the entire trailer was a project created using AI techniques to replicate the look and feel of Shenmue III. Theories still continue to circle around whether this is the real deal, a potential pitch video made by YsNet to present to investors, or an elaborate hoax created by a fan with intimate knowledge of Shenmue’s history… not to mention an incredible talent at using AI software to create videos.
As of now, we have no idea what the origins of the video are and whether it’s legitimate or not. The forums and Discord are alive with discussion on a level we haven’t seen for some time; gaming press such as Push Square, Eurogamer and the Metro have reported on it… and it’s all very exciting! However, we would strongly urge fans to keep expectations in check until more information is revealed. We’re all too familiar with the sting of disappointment after a rumour comes and goes, so for the benefit of self-care we suggest keeping feet on the ground for now and waiting to see how this ones plays out. If it is a fan-created project, then at the very least it’s gotten the community very excited about Shenmue IV’s future.
Whether this is a hint of things to come, or a very well made AI tribute to Shenmue, all eyes will be on The Game Awards to see what (if anything) happens, or whether the wait for Shenmue IV goes on…
