Fans have been waiting for a sequel for a long time, but the recently leaked trailer is 100% fake. This happens a lot these days: people post trailers that turn out to be fake, whether they’ve stitched together clips from previous games to create something new, or they’ve gone the extra mile to make something themselves. Many people do this because they’re fans and they want to show their love for a particular IP, noting clearly that their work isn’t official. Unfortunately, a handful do it to troll the masses, hoping to trick as many people as possible into getting excited, and that appears to be the case with a newly-released so-called “leaked” trailer.
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In early December 2025, a purported leaked trailer for Shenmue IV was posted on a forum, but the franchise’s developer, YS NET Inc., has outed it as AI-generated. Making AI trailers is a popular pastime these days, but people cross a line when they release something as legitimate when it’s not. This only confuses people in the marketplace waiting for a popular game to reveal any hint of its development, while simultaneously putting the real developers in a bind. Ys Net had to take the time to go online and post a long message in both Japanese and English to address the fake trailer.
The Shenmue 4 Trailer Is AI-Generated
As soon as the trailer showed up online, people began analyzing it to no end, as Shenmue IV is a game that fans would love to dive right into. The third game was a bit of a disappointment, but it ended in such a way as to leave fans wanting more. The trailer is a shot of a “work in progress” taken from a television, so it’s not presented directly, as you can see in the above image. Looking into it closely, the gameplay seems a bit dated and not on par with modern games. Regardless, it does look like a Shenmue game, so it wasn’t clear right away whether it was legitimate or made with generative AI. Ultimately, it proved to be the latter.
Ys Net couldn’t have made it any clearer in its statement, which reads in part, “YS NET Inc. has confirmed that a video has been posted on social media which uses our company logo without permission, falsely giving the impression that it is an official Shenmue 4 related video produced by us. This video has absolutely no connection to YS Net. Furthermore, at this time, YS NET has not released any trailers, footage, or other promotional materials related to Shenmue 4.” The company further explains that it is considering legal action and apologizes to fans for the confusion caused by the “trailer.”
So there you have it! There is no legitimate Shenmue IV media of any kind that Ys Net has produced in any capacity. Furthermore, despite a great deal of love for the franchise, there’s no indication that Shenmue IV is in active development. Shenmue III didn’t sell well, and it was released 18 years after its predecessor, so it’s unclear whether the franchise will continue. That said, the game’s director and producer, Yu Suzuki, has expressed a desire to one day develop Shenmue IV. Until you see something official from the devs, remain skeptical.
How disappointed were you to learn that Shenmue IV isn’t in development? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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