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You can pre-order Shenmue 3 for PC on Thursday, December 15

Development is entering 'full-scale production,' according to director and creator Yu Suzuki.

David Craddock

December 13, 2016 1:10 PM

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Yu Suzuki gave an interview in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, and revealed that Shenmue fans can pre-order the game beginning later this week.

"Development is entering the final stage headed towards full-scale production. Early in the new year, I think we’ll be able to show you things such as new videos. Will continue progressing with development so that our backers and those who experience the world of Shenmue for the first time can do so with pleasure," the Shenmue creator told editors from the Japanese publication (translated by Gematsu).

"Also, at noon on December 15, we will start pre-order sales for the PC version of Shenmue III, which received a lot of requests," Suzuki added, almost as an afterthought.

The PS4 version is available to pre-order via the game's Slacker Backer page, which sprang up as a second chance to financially contribute to Shenmue 3 for those who missed out on its Kickstarter campaign.

Shenmue 3 set and shattered records on Kickstarter by reaching its funding goal of $2 million just nine hours after it was announced at E3 2015. The project went on to pull in roughly $6.3 million over the course of the campaign, plus an additional $6.7 million on Slacker Backer.

Lest you get your hopes up by believing that Suzuki's feeling comfortable enough to set a pre-order date indicates a release in the not-so-distant future, think again: Shenmue 3 is still expected to arrive on PS4 and PC in December 2017.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.