Shenmue 3 delayed again, now set to release in 2019

This is the second release date delay for Shenmue 3.

This morning, Deep Silver announced that Shenmue 3 has been delayed yet again, and is now set to release sometime during 2019. This is the second time Shenmue 3 has been delayed, having originally been slated to release in December of 2017. The reasons behind the additional delay were touched upon by Deep Silver in the following statement released today.

“The extra time will be used to polish the quality of the game even further, to the high standards it deserves and release the product in the best possible timeframe.”

Creator Yu Suzuki elaborated upon additional reasoning for the delay to Kickstarter backers, saying:

“To all of our backers, we are very sorry for the delay. After much discussion with our partners, Deep Silver, we have concluded that extending the release will allow us to deliver Shenmue III at its best. We promise to use this time to improve the quality of Shenmue III. We cannot thank you enough for your enduring support.”

Suzuki first announced the return of Shenmue in 2015 during PlayStation’s E3 keynote, with the last entry in the series having released in 2001 for Xbox and Dreamcast. Shenmue 3 then went on to become the most-funded Kickstarter game of all time, raising $6.3 million and tripling its original goal of $2 million.

With such an outpouring of love by fans, it’s both understandable and saddening to hear about the game’s second delay. While fans undoubtedly want a concrete release date and the ability to play the game as soon as possible, they also likely want a game that’s polished and complete.

What do you think of the delay? Is it better to give the game extra time under the developmental microscope, or do you wish the developers had pushed to meet the original 2018 release date? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to check back as we’ll be updating with additional news concerning Shenmue 3’s 2019 release date in the future.

Morgan is a writer, indie game lover, and socially awkward coffee addict. Need something? Morgan can be reached at morgan.shaver@allgamers.com or if you like, you can say hello using GIFs on Twitter.

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