Shenmue 3 fundraising tops $5.6M, becomes biggest Kickstarter video game in history

With ten hours to go, Shenmue 3 broke a Kickstarter record this morning by pulling in more than $5.6 million to become the highest funded video game in the history of the fundraising service.

As of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign for the Yu Suzuki game has raised $5,661,790 from 62,673 backers. That breaks the previous record of $5,545,991 raised from backers of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

The Shenmue 3 campaign is also the third most-funded in all of games. The most funded to date is the Exploding Kittens card game, which raised $8,782,571. The Ouya game console is second with $8,596,474 raised.

The Shenmue 3 campaign still has stretch goals announced for up to $11 million. The next goal, achieved if the Kickstarter hits $6 million, will expand the game's battle system to include advanced free battles, according to the Kickstarter page.

Earlier today, the team behind the game announced a new $39 backer award. Those who back the game for that amount will receive an exclusive Shenmue 3 wallpaper set and have their name added to the Shenmue 3 website. People who pledge $39 will also receive the $29 rewards.

The team also unveiled a $2,500 backer reward which includes the character busts created when designing the game's main characters.

Suzuki will be hosting a live broadcast on Twitch starting at 7 p.m. EDT today to countdown the final hours of the Kickstarter.