E3 2015: Kingdom Hearts III Officially Announced, New World Confirmed

Square Enix really had us going. At their E3 press conference, a lot of titles were flashed on the screen, but one of the most awaited titles was not included. Fans have been waiting for Kingdom Hearts III for years, and there were so many hints that it would show up at E3 2015.

They introduced Shinji Hashimoto as the executive producer of the Kingdom Hearts series, and we’re pretty sure that got a lot of fans’ hearts racing. The man is involved in several projects, but to introduce him as such was obviously meant to get the audience excited. He speaks on stage for a short while, and they flashed the Final Fantasy VII remake trailer on the screen. Hashimoto comes back on stage and mentions a Kingdom Hearts title, and we see another trailer, one for Kingdom Hearts Unchained Chi. Previously only available in Japan, Hashimoto has confirmed that it will be released in North America. That’s cool too, but you could hear the disappointment in the applause at this point.

Then they brought it out. The trailer that everybody had been waiting for: Kingdom Hearts III.

Watching the Kingdom Hearts III trailer felt like coming home. After years of prequels and spinoffs and an adorable mobile game, it’s finally here. All the familiar sights and sounds with the promise of something new, something more. A short video from Walt Disney Animation Studios has producer Roy Conli confirming that his project, the 2010 hit movie Tangled, will be among the new worlds in KH3, so that’s something to look forward to.

The trailer ends with “Now in development,” which has us wondering what they were doing all this time. It’s probably safe to assume that they took this project very seriously, and sorted out as many details as possible before really promising anything to the fans. The trailer looks amazing, and will probably only get better, considering how dedicated the team must be in order to produce something this good with an early build. There was no release date announced, but fans can expect Kingdom Hearts III to be available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.