As one of Sony's major announcements during the company's E3 2015 press conference, Shenmue 3 quickly became one of the most exciting prospects for dedicated gamers. Fans have been awaiting another installment in the series for years, and the possibility to make that happen finally became a reality thanks to the fan funding domain Kickstarter. Still, some may have initially been concerned that the title wouldn't hit its $2,000,000 USD goal.

Fortunately, gamers have pushed the game over its intended mark in just a few hours, leading to the game being fully funded. With that in mind, many will be happy to hear that Shenmue 3 is now set to become a reality on PlayStation 4 and PC.

As of this writing, the project has reached $2,335,284 USD, which is rather impressive in and of itself. As the game comes ever closer to its first stretch goal (which will add "Shenmue 1 and 2 cinema shots" to the game) of $2.5 million USD, it's already evident that the project has become a success. With that said, it's likely the game will hit that goal, as well as several others, if it maintains the momentum it currently has going for it – which it almost certainly seems to be doing at this point in time.

Overseen by gaming legend Yu Suzuki, the title is set to take place in China and feature all of the characters that fans have come to adore since the last installment arrived in 2001. It's hard to believe that means it's been 14 years since the series was last seen from, and it'll still be a couple more before Shenmue 3 is in the hands of dedicated fans, but at least gamers can rest easy knowing that the title is indeed en route.

Given the success of spiritual successors on Kickstarter, it's not surprising to see a legitimate sequel become as wildly successful as it has. Playtonic Games' Yooka-Laylee, for example, has done incredibly well for itself on the crowd-funded server, amassing its original goal in under an hour. Another title that's managed to shatter records is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, as it became the most funded Kickstarter video game campaign in history.

Suffice to say, there's no question that Kickstarter has proven to be a successful way for fans to ensure they get the games they want. That's overlooking the numerous failures that the service has seen thus far, but games like Shenmue 3 simply wouldn't have been possible any other way.

Are you excited for Shenmue 3? Did you back the project? Get at us in the comments.

Shenmue 3 is currently set to arrive for PlayStation 4 and PC by December 2017.

Source: Kickstarter