Shenmue 3 might never be available in shops

After a month on Kickstarter, Shenmue 3 is close to earning $5.5 million from almost 70,000 backers. That's an amazing achievement for a game series which started in 1999 and had most of its impact on the long-dead Dreamcast console.

There have been many questions throughout the campaign, some of which have been answered and others left by the wayside but the latest news has to do with the physical release of the game. Right now you can pledge for a physical copy of Shenmue 3 on PC or PS4 by putting down $60 - and that might be the only way to see a physical release.

In a statement to vg247, campaign cretors Ys Net said that a physical disk might not happen: "Whether Shenmue 3 will be available for retail or not is currently unconfirmed." That could be taken as bad news for those who wanted to get a real copy to put on their shelves for all time.

There are a couple of ways to look at it though - on the one hand all Ys Net is saying is that it's 'unconfirmed' and they're definitely going to make a digital release available. Considering all the time and effort which is going to go into the game over the next few years, there's still a good chance that a physical release will be made available one Ys and PlayStation have taken a close look at customer demand.

It could also be a gamble on their part to secure more backers right as the campaign is coming to a close. They've been furiously adding extra rewards in the last few days, getting closer to their next stretch goal of $5.6 million which will be a new Kickstarter record for video games. After that $6 million will see an expanded battle system, but that's looking pretty unlikely at this stage.

Head over to Kickstarter to see the final rewards which have been added as this historic crowdfunding project comes to an end. Then settle in for a long wait as you probably won't see the game until at least 2018...