Shenmue III Has Been Delayed Until 2019

In a recent post on the games Kickstarter page, publisher Deep Silver has announced that Shenmue III has been delayed until next year. Originally slated to launch during the second half of 2018, the game has been pushed back, with developer Ys Net stating that the extra time will be used to “polish the quality of the game even further.”

Game director Yu Suzuki also took to Kickstarter to apologize for the delay, telling backers that extending the release date of the game will allow the company to deliver the best version of Shenmue III they possibly can. “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.”

While some will likely be shocked by this, this news shouldn’t be too surprising. The game has already been delayed once after being announced for a 2017 release, and while fans will no doubt be hoping this is the last time such a delay is implemented, we’ll have to wait and see as the year goes on. With E3 2018 right around the corner, perhaps Deep Silver and Ys Net will bring some new footage of Shenmue III to show off how far along they are with the game.

For more on the 2019 release, here’s what creator Yu Suzuki said about changing up the series’ combat in the upcoming sequel:

Shenmue III developer Ys Net posted a new video on their Kickstarter page where director Yu Suzuki talked about the game’s development. He reflected on the past two years of development, gave updates on characters and voice acting, and talked about his plans to overhaul the combat. It seems development is coming to a head, which is good considering the game is supposed to release later this year.

“I want to do something a little different with the battles,” revealed Suzuki. “When it comes to fighting, there are things that I want to make my own, so I was thinking of doing things a bit different from last time. We have been running some tests, and well, it’s not a game like Virtua Fighter that is about timing. So, I hope it will take the form of a puzzle game that anyone can play with a strong emphasis on choreography.”

He then went on to clarify what type of puzzles players may see. “[Battles] may be influenced by whether you pick up some item, and so on, incorporating more puzzle-type elements. That’s what I would like to do. And [quick time events], alongside some other things.”

Shenmue III is set to release sometime in 2019 for PlayStation 4 and PC.