Shenmue 3 Breaks another World Record for Kickstarted Games

Crowdfunding records are an interesting thing to glance at: not just because they are a useful indication for what gamers are willing to shell out for, but also because they give us a glimpse at the economic might of the growing gaming community. We’ve always been able to move millions—even billions—for the right project… but when you realize high-end PC users can collectively raise over 60 million alone for Star Citizen (since they’re the only ones using it) it tells you there’s a gigantic market for games specifically for high-end PC users.

Well, two kickstarter records have been broken recently, and both by the same game: Shenmue 3, the long-awaited sequel to Shenmue 2 (astonishing bit of journalism there, I know) was the fastest kickstarter project to raise 2 million USD, reaching that high mark in eight hours alone. And just this week, it broke a second record, for the biggest (so far) game-related Kickstarter fund reached: as at the end of its run, it reached $6.3 million in funds. Which soundly trumps the old record set by Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which capped at $5.5 million.

It’s not surprising Shenmue has been so successful on Kickstarter: even with Sony saying they’ll pitch in (which raises more than a few questions about why it’s being kickstarted at all) Shenmue 3 has been so highly anticipated and demanded (despite its age) that it was guaranteed to reach its two million goal the moment it appeared. Hell, the same would happen to Beyond Good and Evil 2 or Half-Life 3. What is surprising is a game that’s been MIA for the past sixteen years would break records like this. Heck, looking at the stretch goals (it went all the way to 11 million!) they had ambitions for it going a lot bigger!

Either way, unless they pull a Star Citizen, that’s the last dollar we have to give to the creators to see this game come to life. Now it’s up to them—and Sony, of course—to create a worthy sequel to one of the most beloved (and first) sandbox games ever created.

Of course, Rockstar would laugh at the number (GTA V was the most expensive game ever to develop) but you work with what you got, not what you want.