It was June 15, 2015 when Shenmue 3 came to Kickstarter. Yu Suzuki, the series' creator, and developer Ys Net launched the crowdfunding campaign that day, weeks after announcing the game at Sony's E3 press conference. More than $6 million in backers' pledges later, the team has updated the campaign page to celebrate its successful first year.
Suzuki recounts the excitement of that surprise announcement in the short, celebratory post, which arrives two weeks after the anniversary itself. A video above offers the highlights, but to recap: Shenmue 3 made more than three times its goal of $2 million, becoming the biggest gaming Kickstarter ever. Now, the team is working to bring the game to PlayStation 4 and Windows PC by December 2017, its slated release date.
In the video, Suzuki mentions that work on a prototype build began in January, and that development has started to come together over the past six months.
"It makes me feel like it will turn out to be a good game," he said. More updates are promised in the future, including a link to the survey confirming backers' preferred platforms for game and other rewards.
