Kingdom Hearts III

 Kingdom Hearts III ( Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu Surī^?) is an upcoming video game of unknown release and platform. It has been the subject of much rumor and speculation, though the project has yet to begin development, due to series creator Tetsuya Nomura's focus on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and the upcoming Final Fantasy Versus XIII.


After Square Enix finished development of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+, Kingdom Hearts producer Tetsuya Nomura was approached by Disney who expressed interest in a sequel. In regard to a possible release of a Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said "We have various ideas, but we're not at the point where we can say that." He added that due to the development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, "it's physically impossible at the present. I feel that it's not the right time to talk about the future of Kingdom Hearts."^[1] In response to questions as to the secret movie in Final Mix+, Nomura noted that it was of a "new series" in Kingdom Hearts rather than Kingdom Hearts III. When asked about Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura noted that fans and partners alike were interested in its release, and would work to "realize it" as soon as possible.^[2] In the Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Ultimania guide book, Nomura announced three upcoming titles, one of which was Kingdom Hearts III. However, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was still his primary focus, preventing him from starting production on Kingdom Hearts III.^[3] He later noted that Kingdom Hearts III would not see a release until after 2012, due to his pressing on Final Fantasy Versus XIII, regardless of the 10th anniversary of the series occurring in that year.^[4] The Nintendo 3DS video game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was announced to connect to Kingdom Hearts III, both in terms of gameplay system and story.^[5]