Despite fan clamor that Japanese game developer Square Enix release the latest installment of “Kingdom Hearts” this year, it looks like the game is not going to make it in the gaming consoles until early next year.
As per HNGN, a slideshow from the Square Enix’s Financial Results Briefing Session shown to investors last May 12, has confirmed that the highly-anticipated game won’t be coming out until after April 2017.
The report came straight from a recently posted fiscal year business briefing by Square Enix which covered the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2016.
In addition, slides from the session showed seven games to be released before March next year. Interestingly, the upcoming “Kingdom Hearts 3” is missing from the list.
The latest installment to the crossover game was found in the 2017 fiscal year list. Also, the game was not dubbed as ‘III’ but as ‘2.8.’
Among the games that fans should be excited about include “World of Final Fantasy,” “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided,” “Dragon Quest Heroes II,” “SaGa Scarlet Grace,” and “Final Fantasy XV.”
Square Enix has made a statement that the list does not contain their full lineup for the 2017 fiscal year. This means that many more games are expected to be released.
Rumors are rife that the game development company will finally release the much-awaited “Kingdom Hearts 3” during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2016 to be held on June 14 to June 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Further fueling rumors is the recent statement of “Kingdom Hearts Unchained X” producer Hironori Okayama who said that there’s a huge possibility of a big reveal during the upcoming event.
Meanwhile, game director Tetsuya Nomura said that the upcoming installment of “Kingdom Hearts” will feature three new playable characters aside from Sora.
Changes in the gameplay and battle system are also expected to be incorporated in the highly-anticipated game.
“Kingdom Hearts 3” is currently in development for PS4 and Xbox One. Square Enix still hasn’t made any comment if they will upgrade the game once Sony launches the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft introduces the Xbox Two.
Fans have been waiting for a long time for another version of the role-playing game since it has been almost four years already since the last version of the game came out.
Square Enix has confirmed that “Kingdom Hearts 3” will be the end of the ‘Dark Seeker Saga’ in the franchise which is centered on Xenahort.
Developers of the game already have a clear picture where certain characters will end up, in order to potentially continue their story in future games.
The last entry to the main storyline in the gaming franchise was “Kingdom Hearts 2,” which came out on PlayStation 2 in 2005.
Since then, Square Enix has produced plenty of other “Kingdom Hearts” titles such as “Kingdom Hearts Coded,” “Kingdom Hearts 358.2,” and “Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.”
“Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance” was released back in 2012 while “Kingdom Hearts X” was released in 2013 but is only playable in Japan.
That same year, Square Enix made a huge announcement that “Kingdom Hearts 3” is already in development and will soon make its way to ardent gamers.
There are also reports surfacing that the delay for the release of the game is to give way for “Final Fantasy XV.” The game is making its way to consoles on September 30.
The Ecumenical News notes that since the current development team for “Kingdom Hearts 3” is the same team behind “Final Fantasy XV,” they had to prioritize the latter.
Nomura, who was also heavily involved in “Final Fantasy XV” admitted that it is impossible for them to shuffle back and forth between two games as it would cost both its quality.