Fans patiently waiting for the next installment in the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise will have to wait a little longer as new delays have been reported. According to Master Herald, "Kingdom Hearts 3" won't be out until February 2016.
Latin Times listed down some probable reasons for the delays, one of which is the developer's decision to change game engines, moving from their in-house engine to Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games.
Also, the deaths of Leonard Nimoy and Chikao Otsuka might have contributed to the delays. Both actors voiced the character Xehanort but with their passing, Square-Enix is presumably looking into new options. The report states that the character may be removed, old voice recordings may be inserted, or the company may hire new voice actors instead.
"Final Fantasy XV" is also said to be a big factor in the delay of "Kingdom Hearts 3." According to the Latin Times report, the former would remain as the company's biggest priority and that the latter would not be released until the much-awaited "Final Fantasy" installment rolls out.
With the Episode Duscae demo for "Final Fantasy XV" already released, it is speculated that the game will become available before 2016. This hints that "Kingdom Hearts 3" won't be released within the year. The report speculates that a demo for "Kingdom Hearts 3" may be unveiled during the D23 Expo to be held in August this year, and that the release for the title could happen in February 2016 at the earliest.
Development for "Kingdom Hearts 3" officially began in 2013 when the title was announced during the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Since November last year, game director Tetsuya Nomura has moved out of the director's chair for "Final Fantasy XV" to work full time on "Kingdom Hearts 3."
"Kingdom Hearts" was originally released for the Playstation 2 in 2002, followed by "Kingdom Hearts 2" in 2005.
