Shenmue 3 is Far From the End of the Series

Shenmue 3 has been released after an astonishingly successful Kickstarter a few years ago. And while its development was marred with several noteworthy controversies and people were less-than-enthused about many of the WIP trailers and gameplay that the developers showed off… at least it ultimately arrived. “It’s better than nothing," to quote another famous Kickstarter ‘success’ story.

While it’ll probably be a while before we know definitively if Shenmue 3 is “good” or not (so far I’m noticing the fans are enjoying it a lot more than the reviewers), as far as its creator Yu Suzuki is concerned, the mere fact it was released is a nothing short of a miracle.
 

To all the fans who have waited many years for Shenmue 3, and to all of the crowdfunding backers who have made this game possible: This project would not exist without your love, support, and the connections we’ve made along the way. With a profound appreciation for all that you have done, I am happy to finally present to you Shenmue 3.

However, he made one thing clear: for as happy as he is that Shenmue 3 exits, this is still not the end for the series. Not by a longshot.
 

For as long as there are those who wish to see Shenmue live on, I will never give up on my own personal journey to complete its story. As with Shenmue 3, the Shenmue story is with you.

It took a little under two decades to get between Shenmue 2 and Shenmue 3, so, hopefully, there isn’t that much more Shenmue’s story left to be told. Although assuming this game sells well and Sony is impressed with it, we just might get a Shenmue 4 before 2037.

Assuming we’re all still around when that year rolls around, because frankly, we have no guarantees or anything.