Square Enix unveiled a new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer just in time for E3 2017. The new gameplay teaser debuted during a Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour premiere in Los Angeles, Calif.
The trailer included gameplay footage of Sora fighting off heartless on Hercules ’ Mount Olympus. We see briefly Hades speaking with Maleficent during the trailer. We also learn Square Enix will release another trailer during the D23 Expo on July 15. Hopefully the next trailer will show off a new world we haven’t seen before.
So far Square Enix has confirmed Big Hero 6 and Tangled will be part of upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 worlds. Keep in mind Disney has released new IPs since the announcement of Kingdom Hearts 3, including Zootopia , Moana , Finding Dory , etc. However, it’s unlikely we’ll see Kingdom Hearts 3 worlds inspired Star Wars or Marvel movies, even though the franchises are owned by Disney.
The last update regarding Kingdom Hearts 3 development came from director Tetsuya Nomura during an interview with Famitsu released back in January. Nomura assured the magazine the production is moving along nicely, even though the team is working on one world at a time.
“We never start by working on all the worlds at the same time,” Nomura told Famitsu . “In order to avoid having to redo things once we've started it's necessary to let things take shape only after all the elements have received approval, and there are currently some worlds that are still being audited. As I said a while ago, we also have to remake all the character models and such for current-gen consoles, so there's still a lot of development work to do. But, you don't have to worry about the quality, so please wait until the next opportunity I have to show you something. Preparations are underway.”
Still, fans will probably be waiting a few years before they get a Kingdom Hearts 3 solid release date from Square Enix. Gematsu reported Square Enix’s financial briefings for the fiscal year included a slideshow of their release lineup. According to the lineup, Square Enix has no plans to release Kingdom Hearts 3 and the highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake until 2020. The news is surprising for Square Enix. The studio took 10 years to finish Final Fantasy XV and is still releasing content for the game.
Square Enix does not have a press conference scheduled for E3 2017, but it doesn’t mean we won’t see Kingdom Hearts during other events. The studio does have a booth set up on the expo floor. It’s possible the studio could release a trailer during the Sony or Microsoft press conferences. Kingdom Hearts 3 is currently in development for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
