Shenmue III demo announced, but there's a catch

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If you’re a Shenmue fan then chances are you’ve been waiting the best part of twenty years to get your hands on the latest game in this uniquely innovative series. Although Shenmue III has seen its fair share of delays after being revived through the magic of crowdfunding, you won’t have to wait much longer to see this newest chapter in Ryo Hazuki’s ongoing saga. Developer Ys Net has confirmed that a demo (or trial version, to be more exact) will be launching soon. This preview of the game is set to launch in the second half of September but it won’t be available to everyone. Firstly, you’ll need to have access to a PC, an Epic account, and the Epic Game Store client. The official Shenmue III blog lists the recommended PC specs if you’re unsure your machine can handle it. Only those who backed Shenmue III during the original Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign back in 2015 will be able to access this trial version of the game, as well as those who pledged via Slacker Backer. Ys Net confirmed that the demo will be roughly an hour long and will have Ryo performing a number of tasks within Bailu Village. This is where Ryo ends up following the events of Shenmue as he travels from Hong Kong to Kowloon in search of the evil Lan Di and the truth behind his father’s assassination. This preview is being described as a standalone slice of Shenmue III. Ys Net didn’t clearly state exactly what this means and whether this hour long section will appear in the full game. However, the studio did confirm that you won’t be able to transfer your save data over Shenmue III when it arrives later this year. Shenmue III will officially launch on November 19th for PlayStation and PC, where it will be an Epic Game Store exclusive. Source: Shenmue III blog