Shenmue III Kickstarter Is Officially A Record Breaker; Less Than 24 Hours Until Funding Ends

It’s official – Shenmue III is now the most funded video game on Kickstarter, and funding hasn’t even ended yet. As of writing, only 11 hours remain before pledges are no longer accepted, but Yu Suzuki’s long-awaited sequel has already reached its goal, and then some. P

With less than a day to go, Shenmue III‘s Kickstarter page has been updated with the following statement.

Hello Backers and Shenmue Fans Everywhere!

Yes, we are now down to the final 24 hours of the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter! Everyone has been working so hard to make this project a success, so Yu Suzuki would like to give a special message of thanks and inspiration as we head towards the goal.

Yu Suzuki will be joined with the Shenmue 3 project members in a special live broadcast to count down the final hours as the Kickstarter project comes to a close. Scheduled to make an appearance are animation producer Hiroaki Takeuchi and main character designer Kenji Miyawaki.

Shenmue III‘s campaign currently stands at $5,640,612, and if funding reaches $6m, the game’s stretch goal of a vastly revamped battle system will become a reality. We’re still a long ways off from a full release date in 2017, but hype has already reached astronomical levels. Can Shenmue III live up to everyone’s hopes? Let us know in the comments below.