Shenmue 3 Smashes Kickstarter Goal In 9 Hours

SEGA game Shenmue 3 has blasted through its Kickstarter goal, raising $2m in less than 9.5 hours, and looking set to find backers for considerably more. The third installment of the classic series, Sony and game creator Yu Suzuki announced they'd be looking to crowdfunding to pay for development at E3 2015 this week, but probably didn't expect to reach their multi-million target quite so quickly.

In fact, at time of publication, Shenmue 3 is already up to $2.7m. That's with a full 31 days left to run on the clock before the project funding closes.

The game picks up where Shenmue 2 left off, with Ryo traveling to Hong Kong to find those responsible for his father's murder and take his revenge. There'll be new characters in the mix, too, including a mysterious female companion.

Sony has said Shenmue 3 will be released for both PS4 and PC, built on the Unreal 4 engine. Though many elements will be carried over from the much-loved earlier titles, they'll be paired with new fight mechanics that help bring it up to date with the current state of gaming.

Even with such a high degree of support, the path to consoles isn't going to be quick. Suzuki says the game should arrive around December 2017, though if past crowdfunded projects in its ilk have taught us anything, it's that often it can take a lot more time than expected.

SOURCE Kickstarter