The collection campaign for Shenmue 3 raised a total of 7.2 million dollars, converted 6.3 million euros. The crowdfunding campaign has been running since 2015 and has now stopped, just less than a year before the planned release date.

According to developer Ys Net, that money comes from 81,078 backers. That is an average amount of around 90 euros per person. The original goal of two million dollars has been more than surpassed by the amount. The money was collected on Kickstarter, but also outside, with long-term campaigns.

On the campaign page there are two stretch goals which, if you look at this total amount, are technically achieved. These goals for extensions to the combat system and are described as ‘ragdoll reaction’ and ‘ai battling’. It is unclear whether these two points will be included in the game or not. The studio does not say anything about it in the announcement.

Shenmue 3 was announced at the E3 gaming fair of 2015 by the original creator, Yu Suzuki. The interest in the game was great, according to the reactions of the audience present and the speed with which the first goals of the campaign were achieved. The campaign has even become the most successful Kickstarter in the video games category. But beyond that, 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 needed more time to guarantee the quality of the game. Currently the release date is 27 August 2019, but there are also no guarantees that this date will stand. The game comes out for Windows and the PlayStation 4 and is published by Deep Silver.