Shenmue 3 Fundraiser Reaches $7.2 Million Final Scorestand

The fundraising campaign for Shenmue 3 has raised a total of $7.2 million. The crowdfunding campaign has been running since 2015 and has now stopped, just under a year before its planned release date.

That money comes from 81,078 backers, according to developer Ys Net. That is an average amount of around 90 euros per person. The original goal of two million dollars has been surpassed by the amount. The money has been raised on Kickstarter, as well as beyond, with long-running campaigns.

The campaign page lists two stretch goals that, if you look at this total amount, have technically been achieved. Those targets, for expansions to the combat system, are described as ‘ragdoll reaction’ and ‘ai battling’. It is unclear whether these two points will be included in the game or not. In any case, the studio does not say anything about it in the announcement.

Shenmue 3 was announced at the 2015 E3 game show by its original creator, Yu Suzuki. Interest in the game was high, as was apparent from the reactions of the audience present and the speed with which the first goals of the campaign were achieved. In fact, the campaign has become the most successful Kickstarter in the video games category. Beyond that, though, that honor goes to Star Citizen with its $200 million.

Initially, the planned release date of Shenmue 3 was in 2017. However, this was pushed further into the future several times when it turned out that Suzuki’s team needs more time to ensure the quality of the game. Currently, the release date is August 27, 2019, but there are no guarantees that that date will hold up either. The game comes out for Windows and the PlayStation 4 and is published by Deep Silver.

The original Shenmue 1 and 2 were released for the Dreamcast in 2000 and 2001. Remasters came out this year for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.