Just announced via the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter and website is a trial version of the game, coming to the PC.
Called “Shenmue 3 Trial Version“, this will serve as a demo for the upcoming title. It is only available those who backed the game via Kickstarter and Slacker Backer and will be made available towards the middle of September 2019.
According to the update, the demo will provide an hour of playtime with multiple things to do. So there’s little doubt that we’ll find something new each time we check it out. It will also include a PDF play guide.
This demo will showcase the first area of the Bailu Village as well. Sadly, game saves will not transfer over to the full game when it releases. The trial will expire at some point, however, that date hasn’t been announced as of yet.
As you’d imagine, the PC version of this will only be playable on the Epic Games Store. While Shenmue 3 was originally slated to release on Steam, those plans have changed. While the game is still coming to Steam after the Epic Games Store exclusivity, it likely won’t receive this trial at this time.
Shenmue 3 will release on the Epic Games Store and PS4 on November 19th.