Shenmue 3 Kickstarter ends at $6.3 million - most backed video game ever!

The Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3 has wrapped up, finishing with a tally of just over $6.3 million from 69,000 backers.

This makes it the most backed video game in Kickstarter history. It surpassed the $5.6 million raised by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night director Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Originally, Ys Net set out to raise $2 million. But as it’s raised so much more, a number of stretch goals have been hit and new features will be added to the game. Shenmue 3 will feature additional quests, expanded areas, a skill tree, and a rapport system thanks to its Kickstarter campaign’s success.

Shenmue 3 is the most funded video game as well as the third most-funded in all of games. Just the Exploding Kittens card game ($8.7 million) and the Ouya console ($8.5 million) managed to raise more.

Ys Net is currently aiming for a December 2017 launch. It’s worth bearing in mind that release dates for Kickstarter projects often slip, but this is a preliminary date to mark in the calendar at the very least.