Kingdom Hearts 3' Release Date and News Update: 2017 Title To Be Announced at E3

By Jenn Loro - 08 Jun '16 15:04PM

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is set to take place in mid-June as 'Kingdom Hearts 3' developer Square Enix joins a bunch of other gaming giants that will showcase their latest trade. As the prestigious conference approaches, new details on the game's 2017 title release emerged along with rumors featuring a slew of Disney icons.

Following last year's confirmation of 'Big Hero 6' and 'Tangled' as the most recent Disney worlds to be featured in 'Kingdom Hearts 3,' fans hope that several more will be added. So far, these are Disney worlds that fans are likely to see in the forthcoming iteration to the cross-world role-playing game according to a report by Design and Trend:

1. The highly popular 'Star Wars' could be an excellent add-on as the Kingdom Hearts realm expands with new characters streaming in from other worlds. If software engineer Eric Johnson's recent career move to Square Enix is of any indication, we could expect 'Star Wars' as a likely addition. He used to work on 'Star Wars 1313' before the project was cancelled.

2. 'Toy Story' is another top rumored candidate. A leaked trailer at D23 expo in November last year apparently featured a Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster-inspired attack. Moreover, a Square Enix designer reportedly met up with Disney and Pixar Studios.

3. 'Zootopia' is one of Disney's blockbuster phenomenon to hit the theaters this year so fans are getting hyped over the possibility of seeing something familiar from the hugely successful 3D movie. Apart from KH3, mobile game 'Kingdom Hearts: Unchained X' will reportedly feature Zootopia-themed medals.

Other than the abovementioned Disney Worlds, other speculated attractions in the game will include Star Wars' Darth Vader, Frozen's Elsa, and Avengers' Iron Man. According to Parent Herald report, KH3 director dropped hints of more exciting add-ons after teasing that 'nothing is off-limits' when it comes to featuring Marvel properties in the game.

Meanwhile, Movie News Guide indicated that the game is slated for an April 2017 release date or sometime after that after Square Enix's sales brief did not include 'Kingdom Hearts 3' in the company's lineup for releases for the rest of the fiscal year which ends in March next year. As a Triple A title offering, the game is expected to hit PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.