'Shenmue 3' Delayed Until 2018; Updates to Possibly Come During GamesCom 2017
Yu Suzuki and the team behind "Shenmue 3" has announced a delay that sets back the launch of the game to 2018, citing changes to the underlying technology used to develop the title. A more specific timeline could be made public on the game's panel in GamesCom 2017 in Germany this coming August.
A brief message on the Update section of the "Shenmue 3" Kickstarter page announced the delay of the game's launch to next year. Yu Suzuki, director for the crowdfunded project, explained in a video post on June 8 the circumstances behind the setback.
"We unfortunately must delay its release," Suzuki said, as quoted by Polygon. "By utilizing new technologies we have been able to discover new possibilities and expressions. In many ways the game has become bigger and more beautiful than I initially expected. We do, however, need more time to deliver the game to you," the project director explained.
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The original target for the release of "Shenmue 3" was set in December 2017, as pitched on Kickstarter to more than 69,000 backers funding the project as of this month. The success of their crowdfunding campaign drew in more than $6.3 million in financial support, making "Shenmue 3" the most funded Kickstarter video game to date.
On Friday, June 30, the "Shenmue 3" team posted an end-of-June report. Among other things, the team has announced that they will be attending the GamesCom 2017 event in Germany this coming August.
"While we are still working out the details with our partners, we plan to show our newest movie clips, share the latest updates and even make some new announcements," the development team shared on their Kickstarter post.
The update also showed a few work-in-progress models for characters in the game, as well as the new title logo.
New updates about "Shenmue 3" can be expected when Yu Suzuki and his group sits down to answer questions in the upcoming gaming convention.
