Physical versions of "Shenmue 3" for PlayStation 4 and PC might not be available for those who want to purchase the game in retail stores once the game launches.

Early this month, the Kickstarter campaign for Yu Suzuki's upcoming action-adventure video game announced that, as a reward for those who will pledge $60 to the project, physical PlayStation 4 and PC copies will be released. However, in response to a fan who asked about its future availability in stores, Ys Net said via an email to VG247 that its development is still unconfirmed. 

At the moment, only those with guaranteed donation of $60 or more will have access to these physical copies. But fans may not be happy with the news, especially those who are not fond of joining crowdfunding initiatives and those who are only relying on retail sales of the game. 

"Shenmue III" became a record holder in different categories in Kickstarter from the time it was revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015. During the event, Suzuki announced that they would need at least $2 million to be able to develop the game, and on its first 102 minutes alone, the campaign reached the $1 million mark. This earned the game a Guinness World Record for being the fastest video game that raised that much on a crowdfunding platform. Also, the initial funding target was reached in less than eight hours, which makes it the fastest Kickstarter campaign to reach that feat. 

Other stretch goals were added, and it recently surpassed that $5 million mark. It means that "Shenmue III" will have an expanded character perspective system. 

At the time of writing, the campaign managed to gather a total of $5,493,258. But with just 16 hours to go, it is now impossible to see a fully open-world third Shenmue installment since it requires at least $10 million to make it happen.

"Shenmue III" is expected to be released in December 2017.