Shenmue 3 Release Date Delayed

The partially crowdfunded sequel Shenmue 3 needs more time in development and has been delayed. The game had been slated for release on August 27 but has now been pushed back to a fall release of November 19. In a letter on the game’s Kickstarter page, creator Yu Suzuki explained the delay.

“Whilst almost ready, the game simply needs a little more refinement before being truly finished,” it states. “We feel that the extra time we have will help us deliver the true Shenmue experience players around the world deserve! We thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Shenmue 3 debuted at E3 2015, neatly seguing into a Kickstarter campaign that reached an at-the time record-breaking $6.3 million from 70,000 backers. It kept the crowdfunding going with a slacker backer campaign, which added roughly another million. In 2017, Deep Silver announced it would publish the game. At that point it was scheduled for the second half of 2018.

The sequel to Shenmue has been a long time coming. Shenmue 2 was released in 2001, and being aware of the development through the crowdfunding campaign has made the length of this sequel’s development stand out. It has gone through multiple delays, and Suzuki has let fans in on the process and promised changes based on feedback.