Addressing rumors: New Kingdom Hearts III trailer at E3 2017 and apparent release deadline set for 2018

[neil98 313]

On May 8, 2017, Twitter user José Álamo (@Jose_Strife), a reporter for the website Koi-nya, claimed to have apparent leaked information coming straight from the development team of Kingdom Hearts III (the Osaka Team). The information he provided, in a series of tweets, has been translated as follows.

 

Please keep in mind that these are unconfirmed and lack solid evidence, and have therefore been classified as rumors until proven otherwise.

 

“Seems like Nomura is still ‘in his teens’ with not advancing with Kingdom Hearts III’s development due to his ‘perfectionism’. If everything goes according to plan, there will be a trailer at E3 and the game will be released in 2018, even if it’s unfinished. Seems like it has been exhausting for the Osaka Team to have worked on a home console Kingdom Hearts game. On a flip note, Nomura seems to be more interested in what comes after Kingdom Hearts III than in Kingdom Hearts III itself. The Kingdom Hearts III development team was obsessed with releasing a trailer last April and launching it [the game] around 2017 Fall/holidays with removed content. And, to the surprise of no one, all of this is due to the development hell of Versus*. All of these details came [to me] with a delay of 1-2 weeks, keep this in mind as things can change quickly in-house at Square Enix. The E3 presentation is almost confirmed and Nomura should be at the event in some way or another.”

He also added:

 

“As many of you may know, Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance ended up having removed content, so it is nothing new for Kingdom Hearts. All that was planned won’t be in Kingdom Hearts III, simple.”

Today, he tweeted some clarifications in English due to some people being confused by his statements because of mistranslations.

 

“Square Enix is not rushing KH3, that reports [sic] are incorrect. I said that they may cut things, but I didn’t say they are in a rush. People change my words. If they can’t finish something when they hit the deadline, it’ll be cut. There is no rush when you delay a game twice. Reports about KH3 being in development hell like Versus* are also inaccurate. I said that the development of Versus was a hell. And as Nomura has said so many times, this affected him and SE**. If Nomura was a [sic] Osaka Team resident and he set his goals accurately, the game would be out in December like planned. Nomura, as you should know, is working with a lot of teams in SE** in a lot of games/projects.”

KH13.com has contacted José Álamo for further clarifications.

 

José Álamo’s rumors on Kingdom Hearts III go way back to January 30, 2017, where he stated the following:

 

“Development on Kingdom Hearts III seems to not be going as well as expected and development team is using assets with subject to change. It should be playable by August and they still don’t have various sections ready. WELP. It is possible that launch (in March of next year) won’t be affected, but they will have to work a lot for it. Kingdom Hearts III’s problem resides in all of the content they have to include: levels, animations, models… And they are very slow in doing it… Every time they make a build, they review it and Nomura says: “No, we should work more on this” and back to work, when there are assets from PlayStation 2 still to be worked on, untouched levels and things of the sort.”

He added: “Obviously, this perfectionism from Nomura assures certain quality standards and the finished parts from the game look really good. In that sense we shouldn’t be worried. Slow, but safe.”

 

On March 16, 2017, Álamo also talked about a cancelled presentation for Kingdom Hearts III, (which has also been classified as a rumor):

 

“Seems like Square Enix has cancelled/delayed a presentation for Kingdom Hearts III for the press… The closeness to E3 and other factors could be the reason for this decision. They are looking for a more efficient marketing campaign. Nomura had prepared two trailers: one for the end of last year and one for the beginning of this year. At E3/after E3 we should start getting details and, when Square Enix announces the release date, the big marketing campaign will begin.”

José Álamo is known for having leaked a few things in the past, such as the reveal for The Last of Us Part II a week before its official announcement at PlayStation Experience 2016, and a new Fire Emblem game releasing for Nintendo Switch before the end of 2018.

He also has some other unconfirmed rumors, such as a Pokémon announcement being delayed, a new Assassin’s Creed game announcement coming up on the week of May 15, 2017, a new Animal Crossing and a new Metroid (Prime-style) games coming to the Switch before the end of 2018, and Square Enix internally discussing The World Ends With You IP.

 

It is also worth noting that in June 2016, there were some leaks in 4chan about the plot and overall game of Final Fantasy XV. Álamo stated that an inside source of his had confirmed that all those leaks were fake, but when the game released, all of those leaks turned out to be true.

 

With all this in mind, we advise our readers to take what they just read with a grain of salt, as they are all rumors at this point in time that could eventually be proven wrong.

 

*Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which was officially renamed in 2013 as Final Fantasy XV.

**Square Enix

 

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[Merilly 438]

I will still treat this as only a rumor as long as there aren't any official statements, mainly because some of it strikes me as odd. On one hand he says they won't rush the game, on the other hand there is a deadline which would involve content being cut if ot's not ready by then, important or not.

 

Most games have cut content for a variety of reasons (lack of time, didn't fit into the narrative,...) but he makes it sound like they would cut absolutely anything if it's not done. Which could be quite a lot and result in a lacking plot and quantity over quality.

 

 

Quite frankly, KH has never had an entry that felt exceptionally incomplete and I doubt Square needs another game which will be heavily criticized for appearing unfinished. However, at one point or another they will have to release it, because SE also needs to make money.

 

Other than that, I feel like a lot of this isn't particularly new and seems more like a lucky guess. 2018 isn't too optimistic. Various interviews stated that they struggled with development.

 

 

 

And in a way, Nomura's perfectionism is also a good thing because a lot of people complain about the models, which still need some refinement. But of course it also has its limits.

 

I honestly doubt KH3 will end up incomplete like FFXV. They want to continue the franchise after all and having the feel of an incomplete game which feels lacking will upset the fans. Certain issues may not be addressed from the beginning but since KH never had an entry which felt like they had to cut crucial content, I don't think KH3 will be published no matter what against any better judgment.

 

All in all, I look at these leaks skeptically and take them for what they are. As the guy said, things change quickly and constantly and if I wouldn't at least have a little faith in the outcome, I would have ditched KH3 long ago.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

I believe it. It makes sense, what he meant by they will release even if it is unfinished is that they might cut content to reach the release date which is something they've been doing since the beginning of the series. Nothing to be worried about, it's great news to me lol.

[Komali 594]

 

 

On a flip note, Nomura seems to be more interested in what comes after Kingdom Hearts III than in Kingdom Hearts III itself.

 

This part makes me believe this rumor is true because of the whole Unchained X and Union X stuff which are obviously the groundwork for the next saga and it really makes me angry. Nomura should focus on making a satisfying ending of the Xehanort saga, after that he can concentrate on what comes next.

 

For the rest we can't make any judgement because we don't know how far in development they are. They could have finished 13 worlds, still want to finish 7 other worlds until next year and maybe cut 5-6 other worlds out. This isn't necessarily negative if we consider the scope of one world but it isn't positive either. I guess we should just wait for the E3 trailer (if there is one...)

[Green Sparrow 795]

You know we're in a drought of news when they start reporting on rumors lol

The cut content part doesn't scare me. I would consider the Jungle Book world cut content from BBS. I think they had all the best intentions of including it, but they just ran out of time.

IF this guy is telling the truth... dang. We would've had 2 new KH3 trailers by now. I understand the winter one getting screwed up, but why the one in spring? How did the FFXV delay screw us out of TWO trailers? Ugh. E3, get here quick please.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

This part makes me believe this rumor is true because of the whole Unchained X and Union X stuff which are obviously the groundwork for the next saga and it really makes me angry. Nomura should focus on making a satisfying ending of the Xehanort saga, after that he can concentrate on what comes next.

 

For the rest we can't make any judgement because we don't know how far in development they are. They could have finished 13 worlds, still want to finish 7 other worlds until next year and maybe cut 5-6 other worlds out. This isn't necessarily negative if we consider the scope of one world but it isn't positive either. I guess we should just wait for the E3 trailer (if there is one...)

I was thinking the same, I feel like some of the things they've been teasing in the X saga is for the next saga. Nomura said the Master of Masters won't be in KH3 and I don't think that they would've made him so important in Back Cover if he was to disappear for the rest of the series. He's definitely going to appear in the next saga. Knowing how Nomura works though, this is nothing new. With XV, he'd already planned sequels and the game had just been announced. Every time he directs a KH game, he thinks of a concept for the next one, so it's nothing to be worried about.

 

Anyway, am I the only one who wants this to be true? Lol! A release date! FINALLY! Also, to everyone worried that this might turn into a XV situation, it is totally different. XV's development was a lot more complex, they had planned multiple games at first so they had to rewrite the story. They were changing the story ALL THE TIME and that's why the story is messy like that and a lot of the content we saw in the trailers was cut. XV was still awesome tho. In KH3's case, Nomura's been thinking about the story since Birth By Sleep, that's 2010 guys...He had enough time to figure out the story, it's probably set in stone right now. The only things they might cut are certain game mechanics and maybe a world or two that don't bring any plot advancements, but I'm sure it won't be anything major. Really excited to see what they have in store for E3.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

I was pretty much waiting for this site to adopt the rumor before taking anything about it seriously. And sure enough, it paid off. It's not nearly as dire as everyone else was making it out to be when it was raw. Essentially what it boils down to is that KH3 might be getting some content removed, but no more than any other past KH game, and it might be announced for 2018 fairly soon. It's still a rumor and should still be considered as that, grain of salt and all that, but at least it's more positive than certain youtube theorists have been making it out to be.

 

It means absolutely nothing to me when Gamer'sJoint, HMK, Skyward Wing, or whatever other KH fandom "celebrities" says anything, it's only when stuff like this touches down here that I know it's worth looking into, especially since the staff here does a much better job at cross-referencing and fact-checking than any of those other guys do. They fanned the hysteria, KH13 brought it back down to a drop in the bucket (I think I'm getting my analogies mixed up today, lol).

 

Keep up the good work guys.

[Komali 594]

I was thinking the same, I feel like some of the things they've been teasing in the X saga is for the next saga. Nomura said the Master of Masters won't be in KH3 and I don't think that they would've made him so important in Back Cover if he was to disappear for the rest of the series.

Master of Masters said: "We have to focus on what comes after."

 

This is literally Nomura speaking to KH fans lol.

[John Horton 111]

Sighs I don't want any DLC for Kingdom Hearts III besides i can't access my Playstation Network cause there's a problem with the Internet Connection in it and i don't have a Playstation Network gift Card.

[GrandmasterCT 2]

Nolan north confirmed that the last of us sequel was in development 2 years ago at a con. Jose made a "leak" like a month or two before e3 last year. I wouldn't trust anything that this douchebag posts.

[RikuFangirl2008 1,368]

I can only take all of this as a rumor.

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

"If everything goes according to plan, there will be a trailer at E3 and the game will be released in 2018, even if it’s unfinished."

and

"As many of you may know, Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance ended up having removed content, so it is nothing new for Kingdom Hearts. All that was planned won’t be in Kingdom Hearts III, simple"

 

these two statements aren't adding up to me. there's a difference between releasing a game unfinished and a game releasing with cut content. 

 

BBS had a whole world and an FF character cut before release but no one would call that game unfinished because of it. 

 

if KH3 releases and feels as broken up and bare bones as FFXV did on launch then that could be considered unfinished. BBS still felt like a complete package at launch, despite having content cut. so maybe that's just poor word choice on this guys part. a statement that suggests KH3 will released unfinished is more concerning to me than hearing content will be cut.

 

because yes with the majority of games released, content is cut one way or another. that isn't anything new. 

 

i'll continue to take this all with a grain of salt until we have more solid info to go on.

[Theres_That_Nobody 6]

I believe it... and besides(and I know alot of yall will disagree) they could add the stuff through dlc. Im not gonna lie: a dlc patch containing a few keyblades, new game mechanics, and a new world with story that isnt connected to the overall plot(like just visiting and helping the worlds worldy situation) would be cool. Call the season pass final mix and im good lol

[Guest]

You know we're in a drought of news when they start reporting on rumors lol

 

The cut content part doesn't scare me. I would consider the Jungle Book world cut content from BBS. I think they had all the best intentions of including it, but they just ran out of time.

 

IF this guy is telling the truth... dang. We would've had 2 new KH3 trailers by now. I understand the winter one getting screwed up, but why the one in spring? How did the FFXV delay screw us out of TWO trailers? Ugh. E3, get here quick please.

 

If this hypothetically ends up becoming true, I think the delay will work out for the better. The big events this year is E3 (in which Square Enix has a dedicated presentation booth) and D23 2017 (which is guaranteed to have a Disney Interactive session because of Star Wars Battlefront and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite). They are both high profile events, and it's preferable to have a game that's in a more presentable state shown to consumers.

 

I believe it... and besides(and I know alot of yall will disagree) they could add the stuff through dlc. Im not gonna lie: a dlc patch containing a few keyblades, new game mechanics, and a new world with story that isnt connected to the overall plot(like just visiting and helping the worlds worldy situation) would be cool. Call the season pass final mix and im good lol

 

Pretty sure Final Mix was the pre-cursor to DLC. The only problem was that you had to purchase the whole game again just to access said additional content. People shouldn't even be mad if the season pass is Final Mix because it'd be more cost effective than buying another retail price game.

[neil98 313]

If this hypothetically ends up becoming true, I think the delay will work out for the better. The big events this year is E3 (in which Square Enix has a dedicated presentation booth) and D23 2017 (which is guaranteed to have a Disney Interactive session because of Star Wars Battlefront and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite). They are both high profile events, and it's preferable to have a game that's in a more presentable state shown to consumers.

 

 

Pretty sure Final Mix was the pre-cursor to DLC. The only problem was that you had to purchase the whole game again just to access said additional content. People shouldn't even be mad if the season pass is Final Mix because it'd be more cost effective than buying another retail price game.

Actually, Disney Interactive doesn't work in the games business anymore. If anything, they can have a small segment on the company's videogames, but not on Disney Interactive's side (I don't know how that Cars 3 game is a thing now that I think about it lol). And yes, if people complain about DLC for KH3, it's not like we've had similar things in the past (Final Mix, which equals as a game of the year edition with DLC included, and having to pay a mandatory full-price for the game again). If anything, it'll be less expensive and more compelling.

[Zoro317 111]

I believe it. It makes sense, what he meant by they will release even if it is unfinished is that they might cut content to reach the release date which is something they've been doing since the beginning of the series. Nothing to be worried about, it's great news to me lol.

I don't know if cut content is great news, especially considering the anticipation for this game is a lot higher than the rest in the series. 

[LightKeyDarkBlade 72]

Whether to believe this rumour or not...

 

May our hearts be our guiding key.

[Aquaberry 759]

You know we're in a drought of news when they start reporting on rumors lol

We have plenty to report about relative to how much free time our volunteers have to dedicate to the community. This article is for clarifying misunderstandings in our community, and provide a layout of background research to encourage our readers to think logically and for themselves. There is no other purpose to or assumptions in this article.

 

I was pretty much waiting for this site to adopt the rumor before taking anything about it seriously. And sure enough, it paid off. It's not nearly as dire as everyone else was making it out to be when it was raw. Essentially what it boils down to is that KH3 might be getting some content removed, but no more than any other past KH game, and it might be announced for 2018 fairly soon. It's still a rumor and should still be considered as that, grain of salt and all that, but at least it's more positive than certain youtube theorists have been making it out to be. It means absolutely nothing to me when Gamer'sJoint, HMK, Skyward Wing, or whatever other KH fandom "celebrities" says anything, it's only when stuff like this touches down here that I know it's worth looking into, especially since the staff here does a much better job at cross-referencing and fact-checking than any of those other guys do. They fanned the hysteria, KH13 brought it back down to a drop in the bucket (I think I'm getting my analogies mixed up today, lol). Keep up the good work guys.

Thanks It is up to you guys to decide for yourselves but we just want you guys to know the facts, statements, and events as they are and happened to aid your understanding. Generally speaking, news outlets may have to bear a bit of responsibility towards dispelling viral "fake" news.

[Green Sparrow 795]

We have plenty to report about relative to how much free time our volunteers have to dedicate to the community. This article is for clarifying misunderstandings in our community, and provide a layout of background research to encourage our readers to think logically and for themselves. There is no other purpose to or assumptions in this article.

Sorry if my comment came off as criticizing the website, that wasn't my intent. I was just trying to point out how the community in general has nothing to really talk about because of lack of info from Square, Disney, or Nomura-san.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

I don't know if cut content is great news, especially considering the anticipation for this game is a lot higher than the rest in the series.

 

Even if the game released 2047, there would still be cut content. There's always content that don't make it to games, sometimes they're just concepts or ideas and sometimes they're actual mechanics. That doesn't mean we won't end up with a great game. Even if content is cut, it's not like we'll know about any of it. It won't change anything. People are just freaking out because with XV, we've seen a bunch of stuff that didn't make it to the game, but with KH3, we haven't seen much so it won't change anything in our lives if they cut content that we didn't know about in the first place lol

[StarStealingGirl 1]

If any of these games are confirmed to be shown it's going to be one of the best E3's ever. A new Animal Crossing!! Heck yeah!! *LOL*

[Guest]

Actually, Disney Interactive doesn't work in the games business anymore. If anything, they can have a small segment on the company's videogames, but not on Disney Interactive's side (I don't know how that Cars 3 game is a thing now that I think about it lol). And yes, if people complain about DLC for KH3, it's not like we've had similar things in the past (Final Mix, which equals as a game of the year edition with DLC included, and having to pay a mandatory full-price for the game again). If anything, it'll be less expensive and more compelling.

 

You're technically half right. Yes, the Disney video game development and publishing company is no more, however, Disney still hosts a digital publishing company so that their intellectual properties can be licensed into the video game world. And that publishing just so happens to be called Disney Interactive.

 

https://dcpi.disney.com/

[Sgtsarge 6]

With all the rumours flying round, i thought KH13 would be the best place to come to for an update and to give my own thoughts!

 

As much as i enjoyed my time with FFXV, i can't help but feel an extra year of development would have done it the world of good. The second half of the game felt unfinished and i'd be really disappointed if the same thing happened to KH3. 

 

I've found with the Kingdom Hearts franchise that each iteration feels complete in terms of story and gameplay on release, even before the Final Mix version. With Nomura's recent comments, i was honestly expecting a 2019 release and feel a 2018 release may be a bit too early? I'd be more than happy to wait a year longer to receive a complete game.  A long and painful wait is something i've been used to ever since i completed the original Kingdom Hearts way back in 2002. I recall KH2 didn't release until September 2006 in Europe! 

 

I also wondered if they could release a KH3 final mix as DLC? Here's hoping for a new trailer at E3 also.

[gosoxtim 52]

With all the rumours flying round, i thought KH13 would be the best place to come to for an update and to give my own thoughts!

 

As much as i enjoyed my time with FFXV, i can't help but feel an extra year of development would have done it the world of good. The second half of the game felt unfinished and i'd be really disappointed if the same thing happened to KH3. 

 

I've found with the Kingdom Hearts franchise that each iteration feels complete in terms of story and gameplay on release, even before the Final Mix version. With Nomura's recent comments, i was honestly expecting a 2019 release and feel a 2018 release may be a bit too early? I'd be more than happy to wait a year longer to receive a complete game.  A long and painful wait is something i've been used to ever since i completed the original Kingdom Hearts way back in 2002. I recall KH2 didn't release until September 2006 in Europe! 

 

I also wondered if they could release a KH3 final mix as DLC? Here's hoping for a new trailer at E3 also.

would people people stop comparing kh to ffxv to different game  to differnt director if anything is cut fro kh3  it would be summons,unfisjed worlds and next saga content nomura is not going to send out a game with a unfinshed game 

[Aquaberry 759]

Sorry if my comment came off as criticizing the website, that wasn't my intent. I was just trying to point out how the community in general has nothing to really talk about because of lack of info from Square, Disney, or Nomura-san.

 

no worries

 

 

Even if the game released 2047, there would still be cut content. There's always content that don't make it to games, sometimes they're just concepts or ideas and sometimes they're actual mechanics. That doesn't mean we won't end up with a great game. Even if content is cut, it's not like we'll know about any of it. It won't change anything. People are just freaking out because with XV, we've seen a bunch of stuff that didn't make it to the game, but with KH3, we haven't seen much so it won't change anything in our lives if they cut content that we didn't know about in the first place lol

 

basically. I disagree with people who claim cutting content = rushing a game. I might not have faith in the user who claims this is leaked info, but he is right when he said people are twisting his words. he never said they were rushing the game, he stated something quite obvious, but in reference to the deadline being set and SE's will to have no more delays for the game's release.....

 

....... PROVIDED he's telling the truth in the first place. lol

 

but his insurance is: 'I heard this two weeks ago, and SE's always changing their mind, so if this turns out not to be true, that's because they changed their mind.'

 

I wouldn't worry too much about it, personally. it will release when it will release.