Kingdom Hearts 3 Release Date, Characters, Rumors: What We Know So Far

May 27, 2015 01:39 PM EDT

Kingdom Hearts III release date details may be scarce. Even so, character rumors have abounded in recent weeks. The game is expected to run on next-gen hardware such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There is no word on whether Kingdom Hearts 3 will be available on the older PlayStation 3.

In the sections, we will explore the latest round of gossip so far.

When Will Kingdom Hearts Be Released?

Admittedly, this is a tough question to answer. Kingdom Hearts II was released back in 2005. Its sequel Kingdom Hearts III was not announced in 2013 at the E3 conference. The game was expected to launch that year, but was delayed. As of 2015, Kingdom Hearts 3 is still under development.

In April, Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura informed Famitsu that more details will be revealed at the D23 Expo Japan in November. Nomura statement was graciously translated by Gematsu.

"We have some interesting things planned. There will be Kingdom Hearts III news, and various things, I think. Development on Kingdom Hearts III is going smoothly, but there will also be new announcements connected to it," Nomura said.

KH Insider announced that the Kingdom Hearts main website will have new information in mid-August. Whether or not this update will include the release date confirmation remains to be seen. In short, the launch schedule will not be announced anytime soon.

What Characters Will Be Featured?

Lovable protagonists Sora, Donald, and Goofy are definitely coming back in the next KH installment. The real question is what new characters will be added. One notable feature of Kingdom Hearts is the unique crossover of proprietary characters from Disney. However, fans desire to see Square Enix mix things up a bit. Some fans are demanding personalities from Big Hero 6, Frozen, and Pixar.

Other aficionados want to see Star Wars, and Marvel characters added. To many observers, this may seem ludicrous. However, Disney does own the rights to Marvel and Star Wars. This means anything is possible.

"We have to come up with a world that has a lot of originality," Tai Yasue said to Cinema Blend. "We want variety in our new Kingdom Hearts. So, we don't want too many of one sort of world that would look the same. For each world, there has to be some meaning for it - in the plot."

Currently, both versions of Kingdom Hearts III is available for pre-order at retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart. Nonetheless, the release date remains unconfirmed.