Shenmue 3 delayed to 2019

Shenmue 3 has now been delayed to 2019 in order to further refine and polish the game, which was announced way back in 2015.

On the game’s Kickstarter page, director and producer Yu Suzuki, along with publisher Deep Silver, released a statement explaining the latest delay to Shenmue 3.

“To all of our backers, we are very sorry for the delay” the statement reads. “After much discussion with our partners, Deep Silver, we have concluded that extending the release will allow us to deliver Shenmue III at its best. We promise to use this time to improve the quality of Shenmue III. We cannot thank you enough for your enduring support”.

This isn’t the first time Shenmue 3 has been pushed back. Originally set for a December 2017 release, the game was delayed last summer to the second half of 2018. The first teaser trailer was released last year, featuring early development footage.

News of Shenmue 3 was first announced back at the 2015 PlayStation E3 keynote. It became the most-funded Kickstarter game of all time, reaching a staggering $6.3 million dollars. The original goal was only $2 million.

The first two Shenmue games were developed by Suzuki and were both released for the Sega Dreamcast. Back in the day, the games were praised for their graphics and storytelling. The second game later appeared for the Xbox when Sega abandoned the hardware market. Commercial failure kept the franchise dormant for well over a decade.

The game story features Ryo Suzuki, a teenager who is looking for revenge after his father was murdered. In the third game, Ryo will continue exploring China to find Lan Di, his father’s killer, alongside companion Ling Shenhua. Ryo will be able to use a phone to communicate with people from previous games.

Shenmue 1 and 2 are also heading to modern consoles sometime this year. They will have a number of improvements, but won’t be full-on HD remakes.