Shenmue 3 system requirements released

Delayed crowd-funded action-adventure title Shenmue 3 has received official specifications for its Windows release - and you're going to need at least 100GB of free storage space to finish the story begun way back in 1999.

The most expensive video game ever developed at the time of its original release in 1999 on the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast, action-adventure franchise Shenmue saw two games released in two years then sat largely ignored bar a cancelled massively multiplayer online title and a social game which lasted just a single year. While not an unalloyed success - critics at the time praised the game's graphics, soundtrack, and scale, but accused it of being slow-paced on a platform better known for twitch-reaction arcade titles - the two games have become cult icons of the Japanese gaming scene, and when creator Yu Suzuki announced crowdfunding for a long-awaited third entry in the series the campaign more than met its goal.

Since then, though, development has been slow. Shenmue 3 was originally due to launch in December last year, but in May its publisher Deep Silver confirmed it was pushing its launch back to some time in 2019. Now, though, the game's development has progressed to the point that those eager to get their hands on the title can find out if their gaming rig is powerful enough through the release of official recommended specifications.

In an updated on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, the official system requirements have been confirmed as a PC running Windows 7 64-bit or newer on an Intel Core i5-4460 or better with 4GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti or better supporting DirectX 11 and with at least 2GB of VRAM, and a copy of Valve's Steam client and a working internet connection for activation.

The specifications, in other words, do not suggest a title which is pushing the boundaries of PC gaming - except for the storage requirement, which puts the game at a whopping 100GB installed. Its creators have also warned that 'system requirements may change without notice,' though without significant modification to the title's engine between now and its revised launch date they are unlikely to get considerably more demanding.

Neither Suzuki nor Deep Silver have yet committed to a firm launch date for the game, which is set for release on Windows and PlayStation 4.