Earlier last week, Koei Tecmo revealed returning officers, including Liu Bei with a goatee, for the new Dynasty Warriors 9 (真・三國無双８).
Following the reveal of Liu Bei, Dynasty Warriors 9 producer Akihiro Suzuki (鈴木亮浩) shared on twitter a Liu Bei without a goatee.
【鈴木P】『真・三國無双８』の劉備、実は「ヒゲなし」も用意してあります。ゲーム中では、ストーリーの進行によって自動的に切り替わります。夏侯惇の眼帯と同じですね。#真・三國無双８ pic.twitter.com/zdRhPLBqJ6
— 真・三國無双 公式 (@s_sangokumusou) July 24, 2017
In the post Suzuki explains that in the new game, as players progress, the goatee-less Lu Bei will slowly transform into the goatee Liu Bei. The same will apply to Xiahou Dun and his iconic eye-patch.
Dynasty Warriors 9 will be available on PS4, it will be the first open-world title to the Dynasty Warriors series. A release date has yet to be announced.