It may be hard to understand why people are so ravenously excited for Kingdom Hearts III, but there really is a valid reason. The last proper entry in the franchise, Kingdom Hearts II, was released all the way back in 2005. Fans have had to suffer nearly a decade's worth of spin-offs and re-releases without any idea of when the next true sequel would arrive...or if it ever would. In fact, the only confirmation fans received that the game was even being made was a short E3 trailer, but even that was two years ago.
That being said, the decade-long wait may finally be over soon: while Square Enix has refused to confirm a 2015 release date, one of the game's primary voice actors took to Twitter yesterday to talk about the project. When speaking on a possible Kingdom Hearts III release date, voice actor Bill Farmer (the voice of Goofy) said, "...it is supposed to come out later this year."
There was a Goof! The release date for @KINGDOMHEARTS III remains unannounced.
— SQUARE ENIX USA (@SquareEnixUSA) January 8, 2015
At the end of the day, as close as Farmer is to the project, his word cannot be taken as fact.
That doesn't mean Kingdom Hearts III isn't coming in 2015, however. Considering that Square Enix's two major franchises (Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy) have been dormant for so long, it's highly likely that the studio is hoping for at least one major release by the end of the year. Both games are hugely anticipated and are almost guaranteed to sell extremely well - meaning that their release schedule will likely come down to which game is finished first.
In all honesty, Final Fantasy XV has been Square Enix's focus over the last few years, whereas Kingdom Hearts III has taken a backseat when it comes to coverage. There is a chance that the Disney-Final Fantasy mashup will see a release before the end of the year, but fans shouldn't rush out and buy a PlayStation 4 until an official announcement is made.
Until then, expect to see something from Square Enix at this year's E3.
