The open-world action video game "Shenmue 3" is rumored to be released by the end of next year. On the occasion of the world's largest crowdfunding platform, the Kickstarter's first anniversary, game director Yu Suzuki gave a small surprise to the fans of one of the highest funded games ever. Reports claimed that Yu provided an interesting update about the upcoming third installment of the gaming series.

According to Yu, the development team has been working continuously on the project since past six months, reported Polygon. He said that developers have created a successful prototype with the help of the received funds. Moreover, the director teased that the game will include many battles and crowd cheering.

"With our key developers on board, the prototype build started in January," said Yu, as reported by PC Gamer. "It has been six months since the project has really taken off. Battle and facial expressions are coming together, and cheers from the crew are growing. It makes me feel it will turn out to be a good game."

Apart from gameplay rumors, few reports hinted that the upcoming action-adventure game will also have an excellent user interface compared to the earlier installments. According to Suzuki, the development team is also using the "Shenmue 2" interface in order to test different types of game mechanics provided by the new Unreal Engine 4, reported Games Radar.

Earlier, "Shenmue 3" was first teased during the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo. However, for development of the game, its team needed around $2 million. With the help of the Kickstarter platform, the game amassed around $6.3 million in a couple of hours.

"Shenmue 3" is slated to be released in December 2017 on PlayStation 4 and Windows. There is no official update yet on the lead characters and the plot of the third installment.