While the attention of most fans of “Kingdom Hearts” is focused on the third installment in the franchise lately, it looks like it won’t be the only game for fans to enjoy eventually. There have been talks about “Kingdom Hearts 2.9” for quite some time now, and while we didn’t have any solid information about the game, it was apparently recently confirmed by a LinkedIn profile of a former developer at Square Enix.
For many fans, the game didn’t really need a real confirmation as it was pretty certain that it was indeed being worked on. However, seeing it in the profile of someone who was once attached to the project is a completely different story and sheds new light on the situation. The last information that we got about the game was in the schedule of Square Enix which listed the title as in development, although that entry was removed rather hastily by the studio without any comments from them.
Because of this, some fans believed that the presence of the game in the schedule was a mistake that the studio fixed, although many were convinced that it was a genuine accidental leak – and now, seeing the game in the LinkedIn profile of the former developer makes the situation pretty much certain.
The profile states that the game is being prepared for the PlayStation 3 and 4 simultaneously, although we don’t know if there will be any significant differences between the two versions. It’s possible that the PS4 version could utilize the more powerful hardware more adequately, by adding extra visual fidelity and improving the mechanics and responsiveness, but it’s also possible that the game will look and feel exactly the same.
Other than that, the LinkedIn profile of the developer reportedly also sheds some light on the progress on “Kingdom Hearts 3”, revealing that the person has been in talks with Disney and Pixar, which strongly alludes to the possibility that the animation studio is going to have some of its characters featured in the new game. This has been requested by players for a long time and it might finally come true, although we still don’t have any official confirmation and we only have this rumor to go by.
It’s still better than nothing though, as there’s little reason for this developer to post information like that on their official professional profile. If anything, they have probably made a slight miscalculation in what they are supposed to reveal in that profile, and Square Enix might have a thing or two to say about the situation behind closed doors.
In addition, the developer reportedly did some work on a multiplayer component for the game, something which many players have been particularly interested in. We don’t know if multiplayer will actually be included in the final release – for what it’s worth the developer was apparently only involved in the planning and documentation of the feature – but it will certainly be very warmly welcomed by fans of the franchise.
We don’t know how multiplayer is going to work if it gets added though – it could be a cooperative mode or even a player-versus-player one, and the gameplay of “Kingdom Hearts” certainly allows for both possibilities. Many players would likely be happy to get an opportunity to fight alongside their friends though, and they have been hopeful that the multiplayer of the new game is going to focus on this type of gameplay if it gets added.