Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III
North American cover art.
Developer(s)Square Enix Business Division 3
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)
Producer(s)Rie Nishi
Designer(s)Tai Yasue
Programmer(s)
  • Hideki Matsuoka
  • Tomohito Hano
Artist(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s)
  • Tetsuya Nomura[1]
  • Masaru Oka
Composer(s)
[a]
SeriesKingdom Hearts
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleasePS4, Xbox One
  • JP: January 25, 2019
  • WW: January 29, 2019
III + Re Mind
Windows
  • WW: March 30, 2021
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: February 10, 2022
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Kingdom Hearts III[b] is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the twelfth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, and serves as a conclusion of the "Dark Seeker Saga" story arc that began with the original game. Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, returning protagonist Sora is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey, and Riku in their search for seven guardians of light as they attempt to thwart Xehanort's plan to bring about a second Keyblade War. Their journey has them cross paths with characters and visit worlds based on different Disney and Pixar intellectual properties.

Concepts for Kingdom Hearts III began as early as 2005 after the release of Kingdom Hearts II in Japan, with the game's development not being officially announced until 2013, following years of rumors and speculation. The game features recurring gameplay elements from the series, while expanding parties to five characters total, introducing new "Attraction Flow" attacks that incorporate various Disney Parks attractions, and including minigames inspired by classic Mickey Mouse cartoons in the style of 1980s LCD games.

Kingdom Hearts III was released worldwide in January 2019 and received generally positive reviews from critics. Critics praised its visuals, soundtrack, art style, gameplay, and variety of combat options, while reception towards its plot and presentation was more mixed. It sold over five million copies within its first week of release, becoming both the fastest-selling and best-selling game in the series' history in North America.[3] A downloadable content expansion of the game titled Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind[c] was released on January 23, 2020, for PlayStation 4,[4] and on February 25, 2020, for Xbox One.[5] A version of the game bundled with the DLC titled as Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind was released on Windows via Epic Games Store and Steam on March 30, 2021, and June 13, 2024, respectively.[6][7] The same version was released on the Nintendo Switch via cloud streaming on February 10, 2022.[8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NomuraFamitsu2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference UltimaniaMusicTeam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference March2019NPD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ReMindRevealTrailer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ReMindXbox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Kim, Matt T.M. (February 12, 2021). "Kingdom hearts Is Coming to PC In March". IGN. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  7. ^ Parrish, Ash (May 21, 2024). "Square Enix will let Kingdom Hearts cook on Steam". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Purslow, Matt (October 5, 2021). "Kingdom Hearts Series Coming to Switch as Cloud Games". IGN. Retrieved October 5, 2021.


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