Shenmue 3 Delayed Until Late 2018

We have some good news and some bad news for Shenmue fans, today. The bad news is that Shenmue 3 [...]

By Matthew Hayes

We have some good news and some bad news for Shenmue fans, today. The bad news is that Shenmue 3 has been delayed, and is now scheduled to launch in the second half of 2018. The good news is that Shenmue 3 has been delayed. We'll clear that up in a bit, but first, hear from Yu Suzuki, the game's director:

"In many ways, the game has become bigger and more beautiful than I initially expected. We do, however, need more time to deliver the game to you. In order to achieve the game concept you supported and my sixteen year-long personal dream, we have revised the development schedule. We are moving ahead with a plan to release the game in the second half of 2018."

This has been received, believe it or not, with fairly open arms by the majority of Shenmue fans. Most of the time when a game is promised at a certain date, fans will be understandably upset with it is delayed. Shenmue 3 never did have a concrete release date, just a general window, and fans understand that the game is ambitious in scope and execution, much like the original two games.

This is a game that we have been waiting for for years, and something that absolutely needs to be done right. There isn't a true Shenmue fan on the face of this planet who is interested in a rushed Shenmue game. Comments on YouTube and gaming forums have all echoed the same sentiment: "Good. Take your time. Get this right. Make the game we all want and deserve."

It's also important to keep in mind that Shenmue 3 is a crowd-funded game, not directly tied to the expectations or development timelines of a major investing publisher. This, much like the delay, should be seen as a positive thing. The creative team behind Shenmue 3 and the fans, as investors, are the two most important influential forces in this game's development.

At this point, we're just elated to know that Shenmue 3 is on the way. Hopefully we'll see more gameplay soon, as we've heard that the game is further along than we've been let on. We'll keep you up to date.

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