Major E3 rumour of the day: is Shenmue III happening at last?

Shenmue II
Shenmue, coming back to a console near you?

We're fast approaching E3 time (16-18 June) so you can expect the rumours to come thick and fast over the next month. Today's speculation concerns one of the most beloved franchises of all time, though the evidence is pretty thin.

Shenmue I (1999) and Shenmue II (2001) were supposed to be concluded with Shenmue III more than ten years ago, but poor sales of the second in the series caused Sega to pull the plug.

Now it appears it might be back, though a blurred picture and some imaginative thinking are all we have to go on. The image first appeared on Japanese site Gametalk and has since done the rounds of the major gaming sites.

What have we here?

Shenmue III proof?

What we're looking at here - in case it's not immediately apparent - is a close-up of a jacket that looks a lot like one worn by Shenmue lead character Ryo.

Wait, come back, there's more! Three petals appear on the jacket, supposedly representing an HD remaster for Shenmue I and II and a brand new Shenmue III game for us to enjoy. The PS4 logo is also visible.

Tenuous? Absolutely. But fans of the open world, interactive action adventure series will be hoping there's some truth to the rumours. We'll know more this time next month.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.