I think this is a really bad time frame for Shenmue 4 right now.
Look whats going on in the gaming industry with Embracer closing studios left and right
(Shenmue 3 publisher Deep Silver is a part of Embracer), Microsoft closing their only japanese studio and more,
lots of layoffs all over the place. And its not about the really really big studios / IPs or the really really small ones,
no, all of these closings are about AA games.
Microsofts Tango Gameworks literally released a award winning game last year, a studio that was founded
by the original Resident Evil creator and in the end it was still not good enough for Microsoft
because they want to focus more on the really big projects. And thats not was Tango Gameworks was about.
Which means at the moment theres even less space or requests for AA games by the publisher / investor side.
But thats exactly the budget range that Shenmue needs.
So i think its going to be even harder than before to get a decent budget
because you probably cant count on support by Sony, Microsoft, Embracer etc.
They arent looking for these types of products. They literally got rid of them because they had too many.
Embracer and Microsoft are two peas in the same pod and a shining, prominent example of why massive buyouts shouldn't be allowed.
Microsoft has utterly destroyed any trust they had with their fanbase over the last 2 or 3 months.
Embracer cost several jobs and arguably the demise of several beloved IPs that could've been resurrected.
Everyone warned that massive consolidation via publisher purchases was horrible for the industry, so this happening isn't surprising in the least. The FTC and CMA tried to stop this for *this very reason happening*.
A great many also realized that Game Pass(or Netflix model) isn't sustainable with current game budgets, or for profitability.
But Microsoft has promised Day 1 Game Pass for their titles. You can't back down on that, because then you just further damage an already struggling business and fanbase.
Conversely, you now have those said games costing hundreds of millions to go on Game Pass, where subs have flatlined or they'll slightly spike as people "play then unsub". Even the AA titles have fallen victim to this.
There's a reason that games such as Hi-Fi Rush, etc went third-party. Microsoft literally has no choice if they want any kind of ROI for their products.
And I don't believe those titles will be the end of what Microsoft ends up bringing over.
If rumors are to believed, they'll have a system again, but it will be high-end but hardware isn't their priority anymore. It's ecosystem and generating more money foe their games, even if that means their games end up on rival consoles.