Square Enix has revealed that the Kingdom Hearts franchise is coming to Steam.
In a new post on their official website, Square Enix confirmed that these titles are set to arrive on Steam very soon:
- KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX
- KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
- KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind DLC
- KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE (bundle that includes all the above compilations)
They later confirmed that the games will be arriving to Steam on June 13, 2024.
To explain this in simple terms, after spreading games, which included separate pieces of lore, across different platforms, such as the PlayStation 2 and the Game Boy Advance, Square Enix decided to remaster the games, in such a way that any new player can catch up to all the story. As such, they brought as many of the games as they could to these remasters. In some cases where that wasn’t possible, they added bonus videos and features to at least cover the story.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 originally released on the PlayStation 3 all the way back in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Both games were then released as a single bundle for PlayStation 4 in 2017, in preparation for the release of Kingdom Hearts III on the PS4.
These games were then released on Xbox One, and then Windows on the Epic Game Store, and finally on the Nintendo Switch, but as cloud versions. While one could say that Square put in extra effort to get these games into as much platforms as possible, the results were not satisfactory for everyone. You can rest assured most Nintendo fans are anticipating Square bringing native ports of these games to the Switch 2.
But this new move to bring the Kingdom Hearts games to Steam is clearly part of the company’s new direction to be more multiplatform. With Kingdom Hearts IV on the way, and rumors of a Kingdom Hearts movie or show in development by the franchise’s real owner, Disney, Square will definitely want to spread the franchise’s reach as far as possible.
And like it or not, Steam’s dominance in PC gaming means that it really was imperative that these games come to that platform. Whether you agree or not on why Steam fans criticize Epic Game Store’s existence, the effect is the same; the majority of PC gamers did not buy the Kingdom Hearts games on that store.
And yes, this also makes it likely that Square Enix is planning for Kingdom Hearts IV to come to Steam too. The company may even be planning on a simultaneous multiplatform launch. If Square is all about pleasing the customer now, this was transparently item number one in their agenda.
