'Kingdom Hearts 3' update: 2017 release unlikely as development and brainstorming is still ongoing

It has been almost four years since “Kingdom Hearts 3” was officially unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2013. But despite the long years that have passed, game developer Square Enix has only filtered out information on the same -- and the release date does not seem any closer now than it did then.

In an interview with Gaming Bolt, director Tetsuya Nomura admitted that his team is still not finished with the development of “Kingdom Hearts 3.” The publisher more specifically questioned whether or not decorations -- which is a feature found in “Kingdom Hearts 0.2” -- would make its way to the next full numbered chapter. “I’m still not sure,” he said.

Nomura explained that the reason for additing the feature in “Kingdom Hearts 0.2” was because it was a short episode to begin with and there was the pressure to add more content. However, Nomura confirmed that there is already plenty of things that already make up “Kingdom Hearts 3” and there may not be need to add decorations. The end product, nevertheless, depends on “the state of development as time goes on.”

If Square Enix is still not 100 percent sure about what will go into the next chapter of what is arguably one of its most beloved franchises, it is likely that the game developer will not release the title soon. Once the development is finished, there are still several steps to complete until release, including testing and localisation. Though unconfirmed, it does not seem likely that “Kingdom Hearts 3” will be released within the year.

There was recently an issue regarding whether or not the game would be compatible with the Xbox One, as ICXM reported that the Xbox One logo was removed from the game’s official website. The publication then deduced that the game would be a PlayStation 4 exclusive. However, Square Enix has since remedied the image, thus confirming that “Kingdom Hearts 3” will be compatible with both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.

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