At the end of last year Yu Suzuki gave his usual end of year message to Japanese publication Famitsu. Now, a couple of weeks later and Yu Suzuki has provided another message for 2026, the year of the horse!
This message talks about the upcoming release of Shenmue 3 Enhanced and asks fans to be patient as they require a little more time to work on it. The message comes bundled with a beautiful brand new piece of artwork, similar to the style we received throughout the original Shenmue 3 Kickstarter Updates. The previous artworks were hand crafted by Kenji Miyawaki himself, one of the original design artists for the Shenmue series, and it would be safe to assume that this is another piece of his work.
Here is the original message in Japanese that Yu Suzuki provided Famitsu for 2026:
ファミ通読者の皆様、新年明けましておめでとうございます！
昨年お知らせした『シェンムーIII エンハンスド』は、より遊びやすく、より深く楽しめる作品として鋭意準備中です。もう少しだけお時間をいただければと思います。
今年も皆様の期待を超えられるよう、新しいチャレンジを届けていきます。本年もよろしくお願いいたします！
Google translation:
Happy New Year to all Famitsu readers!
We are currently working hard to prepare Shenmue III Enhanced, which we announced last year, as a title that is easier to play and even more enjoyable. We hope you will give us a little more time.
This year, we will once again take on new challenges to exceed your expectations. We look forward to your continued support this year!
Yu Suzuki’s End of Year Message:
Whilst Yu Suzuki’s 2026 message above is a little clearer, and directly talks about their current status on Shenmue 3 Enhanced, his previous end of year message released at the end of December 2025 is a little more secretive!
Here is the full Japanese message released on 28th December 2025:
![[IMAGE]](https://cimg.kgl-systems.io/camion/files/famitsu/61923/ae50b816a36040a0caaae0d04c1ffbccb.jpg?x=767)
代表取締役。セガ在籍時は『バーチャファイター』や『シェンムー』シリーズなど、歴史に残る名作を多数生み出す。2025年は開発を手掛けた『Steel Paws』がリリース。
キーワード
「まる」
抱負
来年も作品づくりにチャレンジして、皆さんに新しい体験をお届けしていければと思います！！
近況
2025年は『シェンムーIII エンハンスド』のリリース情報をお届けすることができました。遊びやすく、クオリティーアップした『シェンムーIII』をもう少しお待ちください。
注目
WBC 2026、『アウトラン』の映画化など。
Here is the full translation, kindly provided by PhantomRiverStone.com, where you can find details about each of Yu Suzuki’s points from his message:
Yu Suzuki: CEO of YS Net. Best known for creating genre-defining works such as Virtua Fighter and Shenmue during his time at Sega. In 2025, his company released Steel Paws.
Q: Your Keyword for 2026?
YS: Maru (まる = “circle” / “wholeness”)
Q: Your Aspirations for the Year Ahead?
YS: Next year also, I hope to continue taking on the challenge of game development and delivering fresh experiences to everyone!
Q: Recent News
YS: In 2025, we announced release information for Shenmue III Enhanced. Please wait a little longer for this easier-to-play, higher-quality version of Shenmue III.
Q: What Are You Keeping an Eye On?
YS: The 2026 World Baseball Classic, and the film adaptation of OutRun.
This message is exciting, as Yu Suzuki doesn’t just reference Shenmue 3 Enhanced, but also that he wants to “deliver fresh experiences to everyone”. What could these experiences be? With the delisting of Steel Paws from Netflix Games towards the end of last year, and the logo for the game receiving an update, it would be likely that we could be seeing another release of this game – hopefully to consoles! Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen, but we could see another potential collab with ININ Games and potentially a Strictly Limited physical / collector’s edition on the cards! Purely speculation of course, but would make absolute sense.
2026 seems to be a strong year for YsNet and we wish them all of the best for this year with all of the projects that they are working on. We of course want as much success as possible for Shenmue 3 Enhanced so that our chances of a 4th game in the series are increased. As always, we will do as much as humanly possible as a fan base to help support the series, let’s see how this year unfolds!
New Year Message source: https://www.famitsu.com/article/202601/61543?page=11
End of Year Message source: https://www.famitsu.com/article/202512/61923?page=18
PhantomRiverStone Translation: https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2025/12/yu-suzukis-keyword-for-2026-maru.html
