Dead Island and Saints Row publisher Deep Silver has agreed to publish Ys Net's long-awaited threequel, Shenmue III. 

The deal will see the German outfit distribute physical and digital copies of the game on PlayStation 4 and PC. 

Shenmue III was unveiled during E3 2015, where fans were asked to show their support by funding the game through Kickstarter. 

Predictably, people raced to throw cash at series creator Yu Suzuki, and the crowdfunding campaign raked in $6.33 million from nearly 70,000 backers.

"I am very pleased to secure this global partnership with Deep Silver, which is comprised of incredible men and women who have a deep passion for bringing Japanese titles to the rest of the world," commented Suzuki. 

"Throughout this process, Deep Silver has expressed a deep passion for Japanese games, the Shenmue franchise and its fans—this gives me further confidence in Shenmue III and that we have found the best partner possible."

Although there's no firm release date as of yet, Shenmue III should hit shelves in the second half of 2018.