The highly successful Kickstarter campaign for the third installment in the "Shenmue" series has ended, which means the game's development can now begin moving forward.
In a report by Games Radar, Yu Suzuki, the creator of the "Shenmue" franchise, said that the game's crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter officially ended on July 17 and was able to collect $6.33 million.
He thanked the supporters of "Shenmue 3" because their efforts helped set a Guinness record for the game. Within hours after the campaign was launched, the game was able to collect over $2 million.
Suzuki also mentioned that development studio Ys Net has already started working on game.
"We have just started getting into development, and as we move ahead, I will listen to all of you to make 'Shenmue III' even better," he wrote on the game's Kickstarter page.
As previously promised by Suzuki, he and the studio are planning on officially releasing the game sometime in December, 2017. The Guardian reported that it will most probably debut for the Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 platforms.
As to what gamers can expect to see in "Shenmue 3," Ys Net previously released a short trailer for the upcoming game. The clip featured the main protagonist Ryo Hazuki at the Lake of the Lantern Bugs with Ling Shenhua, the woman he met in 2001's "Shenmue 2."
However, as noted by Gamerant, the trailer does not show off the actual graphic quality of the final version of "Shenmue 3." Instead, it only serves as a concept video since the game is still under development.
In terms of its gameplay, "Shenmue 3" will most probably feature the same elements found in the first two games of the series. As seen in "Shenmue 1" and "Shenmue 2," the series is a role-playing game set in a 3D open-world environment. Its action sequences feature a mix between brawler battles and quick-time events.
Check out the teaser trailer for "Shenmue 3" below.
