Shenmue III is really happening!

Less than a day after the Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign was announced, the $2 million dollar funding goal has already been met. At press time, Shenmue III’s Kickstarter has pulled in over $2,650,000.

The Shenmue series was created by Yu Suzuki, who is overseeing the development of the long-awaited third game. The original Shenmue was released on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, with Shenmue 2 following on Dreamcast and the first Xbox in 2001. Shenmue and its sequel revolutionized 3D open world gameplay and introduced gamers to Quicktime Events.

Sega’s exit from the console market seemingly doomed Shenmue 3 to oblivion, so the announcement of the Shenmue III Kickstarter was one of the biggest surprises of this year’s E3.

Shenmue follows Ryo Hazuki on his quest to avenge his father’s murder and uncover the purpose of the Dragon Mirror and its twin, the Phoenix Mirror. Shenmue III will kick off with Ryo in China as he meets Shenhua, his new traveling companion as they explore a legend from her past that predicted their shared destiny.

“If Shenmue 3 was going to get made, I wanted to make it with the fans,” wrote Suzuki on his Kickstarter page. “Through Kickstarter, I knew that could happen. Together, with Shenmue fans everywhere, I knew we could build the game that the series deserves.”

Shenmue III will be released on PlayStation 4 and on PC. The projected release date is December 2017.

What features do you want to see in Shenmue III? Perform a QTE and let us know in the comment section below!