"Kingdom Hearts 3" was a no-show at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo and there is no word if game company Square Enix will be giving fans a glimpse of the title during the 2015 E3 this June. However, according to a report from PC Advisor, lead developer Tetsuya Nomura stated that the company will feature the game during this year's D23 Expo to be held in Japan this November.
According to the report, Nomura stated, "We have some interesting things planned. There will be Kingdom Hearts 3 news, and various things, I think. Development on Kingdom Hearts 3 is going smoothly, but there will also be new announcements connected to it."
In a report by iDigital Times, Square Enix confirmed that the upcoming mobile game "Kingdom Hearts Unchained X" (the "X" is pronounced as the word "key") will tie into the plot of "Kingdom Hearts 3" although no details have yet been given.
"Unchained X" is a follow-up to the Japan-only browser title "Kingdom Hearts X" which is set during the Keyblade Wars, long before the events in the first "Kingdom Hearts" game. "Unchained X" won't utilize the real-time RPG battle that the core franchise uses but will instead use medals (cards in the Japanese version) to strategize and execute moves.
When is "Kingdom Hearts 3" coming out? It was previously believed that the game would be out by 2014 but according to the report from PC Advisor, co-director Tai Yasue explained that the company hit delays because they were working on both "Kingdom Hearts 3" and "Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix" at the same time.
In the end, the company finished the HD remaster of "Kingdom Hearts 2" and eventually had to scrap the game engine they were using for "Kingdom Hearts 3" and shifted to Unreal Engine 4.
The fact that both "Kingdom Hearts 3" and "Final Fantasy XV" are both directed by Tetsuya Nomura may also have caused the former's delayed release. The latter is being prioritized by Square Enix and both games won't be released at the same time to avoid competing against each other in the gaming market. Thus, gamers are not likely to see "Kingdom Hearts 3" until fall of 2016, at best.
