Fans of Yu Suzuki's cult classic can look forward to a major upgrade as Shenmue III Enhanced has now been officially announced and will be shown during Gamescom. The re-release not only comes with a suite of technical improvements but will also mark the game's debut on both Xbox and Nintendo platforms.
Published by ININ Games, the updated version will be released on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo Switch. However, it remains unclear whether this applies to the old model, the Switch 2, or both. Players who already own the game on Playstation 4 or PC will be offered an upgrade path to the Enhanced version.
On the technical side, this new version of Shenmue III offers the kind of upgrades that have become standard for modern re-releases: 4K resolution, improved textures, more detailed environments and upscaling via DLSS and FSR. The world will also feel more alive thanks to an increased number of NPCs, and a "Classic Camera Mode" will bring back the feel of the original two games.
Gameplay tweaks include automatic health restoration before each fight, the ability to skip cutscenes, more forgiving QTEs, and reduced "economic roadblocks" that previously slowed progression. Menus and UI have also been refined for a smoother overall experience.
So yes, it's sounding like quite a promising package.