Kingdom Hearts 3 still doesn’t have a release date, but a statement from Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda during quarterly earnings call suggests we’ll get one in the next few months. Matsuda has promised major developments between the 2018 fiscal year in April and next year’s E3.
“Development efforts for major titles are underway at both our overseas and domestic studios. We will be making announcements about the release dates of those titles between the end of FY2018/3 and E3,” said Matsuda.
At the moment, there are only a handful of major titles in development under the Square Enix umbrella that would be ready for a release date reveal. While Project Octopath Traveler and a possible Switch port of Final Fantasy XV would be tantalizing, both of those games haven’t been formally announced and only play to a small audience on a single platform. In terms of truly earning that “major” namesake, there are only a few possibilities: Kingdom Hearts 3, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII Remake and the unknown Avengers title. Out of all those options, Kingdom Hearts 3 is the only one with a confirmed release year and substantial development time under its belt, making it the most likely candidate for an E3 or pre-E3 blowout.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is certainly an interesting case study, but we’d be surprised to hear a firm release date in that timeframe. The planned episodic release schedule might shake things up a bit, but considering the project just switched to in-house development a few months back, we’d be surprised if that much work has actually been done.
As Square Enix’s biggest announced 2018 release, the stars seem aligned for a Kingdom Hearts 3 release date reveal at or around E3. With that upcoming arrival in mind, the publisher hopes to achieve an operating income of ¥40 billion in the months ahead.
While not directly related to Kingdom Hearts 3, Matsuda also said he welcomes the rapid uptake of Nintendo Switch as an outlet for mid-size releases and back catalog ports. He also hopes to expand his company’s presence in the mobile and AR spaces. When it comes to major releases, the goal is to earn 70-80 percent of revenue through digital purchases.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is set to release in 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One.
Will we get a Kingdom Hearts 3 release date at E3 2018? Might Matsuda be talking about another game? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section!
