Kingdom Hearts III Finally Nails Down A Release Year

This was a big day for Kingdom Hearts fans. Square Enix just unveiled the all-new Toy Story World at Disney's D23 Expo, but perhaps the even bigger news is that the game finally has a (very rough) release date.

Kingdom Hearts III was first announced back in 2013, but development, led by perfectionist series creator Tetsuya Nomura, has been slow-moving and shrouded in mystery. Trailers were released in 2014 and 2015, and it was anticipated Kingdom Hearts III might release sometime in 2015, but then all news about the game dried up. Understandably, there was fear that Kingdom Hearts III was inescapably mired in development hell, or worse, outright vaporware. Thankfully, the project seems to have sprung back to life in 2017.

Earlier this year, Square Enix tentatively announced that Kingdom Hearts III would arrive in fiscal year 2018 or beyond. When pressed, Square Enix representative Yosuke Matsuda said the game would arrive "in the next three years or so," which didn't fill most fans with confidence. Given Tetsuya Nomura's reputation for tardiness, fans prepared for a wait until 2019 or 2020 (or worse).

Well, it seems we were all a little too pessimistic. At the end of the D23 trailer, Kingdom Hearts III was given an official release year – 2018. No word on whether that's early or late 2018, but it doesn't really matter. This is a best-case scenario! We could be playing Kingdom Hearts III within about a year, or less! Of course, Kingdom Hearts III could very well be delayed again, but the game has looked surprisingly polished in its last two trailers. This thing might actually happen! If Kingdom Hearts III does come out in 2018, it will have been 13 years since the last numbered entry in the series.

Kingdom Hearts III is scheduled to hit Xbox One and PS4 in 2018 (that felt good to type).