The release of Kingdom Hearts III for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One may be some way off, its director has indicated during an interview with Famitsu magazine.
Speaking to the publication (via Siliconera), Tetsuya Nomura admitted that the hotly anticipated Disney-RPG, which was announced at E3 2013 during Sony’s press event, is going to take longer than expected to see the light of day.
Square Enix is attempting to make up for the game’s wait by offering Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, while compiles a number of previous games including Dream Drop Distance and a prequel titled Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentory Passage.
The game will utilize the same technology as Kingdom Hearts III. Currently there is no release window in mind, although the director did state that Dream Drop Distance will be more than just a rudimentary high-definition remaster.
Kingdom Hearts was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2002, and received a sequel two years later. It recent years, the franchise has been supported by a number of spinoffs and prequels, including Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.
Despite Kingdom Hearts III missing out on the PS3 generation, Square Enix did remaster the previous games in the shape of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX in recent years. There are currently no plans to bring the collections to PS4, however.
Kingdom Hearts III is currently in development for PS4 and Xbox One, and will include elements of Big Hero 6. The sequel will eschew the QTE elements seen in previous entries in the franchise.