Shenmue I And II Release Dates Possibly Leaked

It wasn't long ago when Sega announced that beloved Dreamcast classics Shenmue and Shenmue II would be making a return with a bundled package for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One later this year. Well, it seems later this year is supposedly next month if an Australian Microsoft store listing is anything to go by. [Update: Shenmue and Shenmue II's release date has been confirmed.]

The above screenshot suggests that the Shenmue I & II combo package will launch on August 20, 2018 in Australia. This doesn't confirm whether it'll be a simultaneous worldwide release, nor does it explicitly verify that the game will launch on that day. A look at the American Microsoft store page shows the placeholder date of December 31, 2018. We've reached out to Sega for comment and will update the story when we hear back.

Shenmue I & II were revealed at the Sega Fes event in Japan earlier this year. Although these ports will reportedly boast some improvements, like new graphics and controller options, they aren't complete HD remakes or remasters. And thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Shenmue III is in development for PC and PS4. Unfortunately, the game was delayed to 2019, with publisher Deep Silver saying, "The extra time will be used to polish the quality of the game even further, to the high standards it deserves and release the product in the best possible timeframe."

Shenmue III was first announced during Sony's E3 2015 press conference and became the most-backed video game in Kickstarter history, raising more than $6.3 million from nearly 70,000 backers.