Kickstarter-funded action adventure RPG Shenmue 3 has been delayed, a post on its kickstarter page has just revealed. Originally pegged for a December 2017 release, Yu Suzuki’s brainchild will be pushed back to the second half of 2018. In a video, Suzuki explains that new technologies have allowed the development team to unlock new possibilities and transformed Shenmue 3 into a much bigger game than was initially expected. A revision of its development schedule determined that it would be releasing in 2018 in order to preserve the game concept players were promised on kickstarter.
Recently, developer YS Net revealed that we won’t be getting any more information about Shenmue 3 at E3, and that it wanted to save June for focusing on working on the game. It appears their comments foreshadowed the delay, which backers will learn about in more detail via a backer report that’s releasing later this month.
Shenmue 3 is the most highly funded video game on kickstarter, reaching a whopping $6,333,295 USD.