Shenmue's story could continue and Part 4 is already in development or planning. This is indicated by a statement by the co-developer Lakshya Digital.
Lakshya Digital wrote on Facebook in December that they had clearly enjoyed working on Shenmue III and would soon be looking forward to Shenmue IV. It can currently only be guessed whether the development of a new game can already be recognized in it or whether one has expressed himself a little unhappily. In any case, it says:
“It is thanks to the confidence placed in us by Yu Suzuki san, CEO, YS Net Inc, and the entire team, that we could be true partners and provide effective solutions to deliver high quality content at the best value. We look forward to working on Shenmue IV very soon! ”
Series creator Yu Suzuki himself had already indicated that there might be plans for Shenmue IV, for whom the story didn't end with part 3 either. In this respect, one already expects that there will be a Shenmue IV at some point.