The crossover role-playing game “Kingdom Hearts 3” has been announced by Japanese game developer Square Enix during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2013 and it will be three years this coming June since that announcement.
While there have been reports that the game will come out sometime late in 2015, it never materialized. Subsequently, there came reports that the game might come out this year following an Amazon listing of “Kingdom Hearts 3” with a release date of December 30, 2016.
But those who are in the know think that December 30, 2016 is merely a placeholder date for the game and there is a good chance that the game would really come out next year.
That’s in addition to the fact that a major game from Square Enix is set to take centerstage this year with the release of the highly-anticipated “Final Fantasy XV.” The Japanese game developer does not want two of its popular titles to cross each other out in the market this year that is why it decided to defer the launching of the other. Thus, “Kingdom Hearts 3” simply made way for “Final Fantasy XV” this year.
Debunking the rumors straight up
However, there were also rumors that went around citing that Square Enix has a not-so-good working relationship with Disney and it was the main reason why the release of “Kingdom Hearts 3” was delayed.
Disney owns the intellectual property rights of the Disney characters and worlds that are featured in the “Kingdom Hearts” franchise.
But those rumors were debunked straight up by “Kingdom Hearts” creator Tetsuya Nomura when he said that Disney is not inhibiting anything or keeping Square Enix from doing what it wants.
He explained that sometimes when they are writing the story, Disney asks them to give it a lighter tone or a happier ending but they have not stopped the Square Enix development team from doing anything, notes the Vine Report.
Nomura also explained that the partnership of Disney and Square Enix for the “Kingdom Hearts” franchise will go beyond “Kingdom Hearts 3” because there has been no discussion between the two companies regarding any plans to end the franchise anytime soon.
Asked about recent reports regarding the possible number of playable characters in “Kingdom Hearts 3,” Nomura said that it is still a secret because if he makes a response, it would surely imply that they are doing something.
He added that they cannot disclose anything about the game as of this time but something is definitely coming along.
Still on the list of most anticipated games
“Kingdom Hearts 3” is still on the list of most anticipated video games as published by Famitsu Japanese gaming magazine, reports Gaming Bolt.
The game is still on the No. 7 of the list which is now headlined by its sister game in the Square Enix stable, “Final Fantasy XV.”
Another role-playing game “Persona 5” is No. 4 on the list. But “Kingdom Hearts 3” beats both “Final Fantasy XV” and “Persona 5” when it comes to consistency as the two have been topsy-turvy in the rankings over the past few weeks.
Square Enix has already announced that “Final Fantasy XV” will arrive at the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and the PC later this year. But it has not said anything yet about the release date of its other much-awaited crossover role-playing game “Kingdom Hearts 3.”
It was recently revealed that there is an unwritten rule in Square Enix that they can only speak and announce a release date to the game if and when the game they have been working on is already on a specific stage of development.
Since Square Enix has already made an announcement on the release date of “Final Fantasy XV” late last year, the game has apparently reached that specific milestone in the game development company’s rule.