All Articles: Kingdom Hearts III

Back in March, Square Enix held a “Roadshow” presentation for their UK investors, and the slides from that presentation are now available online. While they paint a rosy financial picture for the company, the slides also hint at further delays to a pair of upcoming RPGs.

In a section highlighting recent and upcoming releases, Square Enix listed six games under the heading, “Fiscal Year 2018 and Beyond” (Square Enix’s fiscal year runs from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018). Three of the games… Dragon Quest XI, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, and Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy… received an additional notation that they’re scheduled to launch in Japan in 2017.

Unfortunately, that left the other three games… Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the Avengers Project partnership with Marvel… to fill out the “Beyond” half of the section.

While this news is disappointing, it shouldn’t be too surprising. The publisher has never announced an official release date for Kingdom Hears III, and in January, Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura said both games “still [had] a ways to go.” The developer also strongly implied that a showcase at an industry event was the most that either game would receive in 2017.

Still, there’s 11 months remaining in Square Enix’s current fiscal year. You never know, they could have a few surprises in store for their fans.

Like Valve and Blizzard, Square Enix is well-known for taking their sweet time with projects they have in development. Not surprisingly, the publisher is using the same deliberate pace to produce Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake, which have been in the works since 2013 and 2015, respectively.

Director Tetsuya Nomura recently offered an update on both titles to Famitsu (translated by Siliconera), and while progress is being made, it might be quite a while before either is released:

Famitsu: What’s the development status on Kingdom Hearts III?

Nomura: The production process is different than what we’ve had up until now, so I can’t just give you a general idea, but I can say that there are worlds that still remain untouched. We’ve advanced on the production of worlds that have yet to be announced, so we can’t show them for now. As far as development status goes, there’s still a ways to go.

Famitsu: What’s the development status on Final Fantasy VII Remake?

Nomura: We’re making steady progress on its production. While we are indeed working on it, I think we’ll have you guys wait a little longer for both Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Nomura apologized for the delays, but assured fans that it takes time to create “something that will meet expectations.” Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to see how both games are progressing later this year, as the Director also said he’s looking forward to showcasing both games at at least one event in 2017.

It sounds unlikely that Kingdom Hearts III or Final Fantasy VII Remake will launch in 2017, especially after Nomura said, “[Square Enix has] many titles releasing this year,” implying that neither game will be available by the end of the year. Though he did say that fans should look forward to some “surprises.”