During E3 2018, Square Enix released a plethora of new trailers promoting the forthcoming action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts 3, with one of the footage reels even featuring gameplay and several hints as to what direction the story might take. While many Square Enix fans are surely excited for KH3, the absence of the long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 remake at this year's expo – making it the third year in a row that FF7 was a no-show – caused some to express worry for the remake's well being.
According to director Tetsuya Nomura, who is at the helm of both Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy 7 remake, fans shouldn't be concerned for FF7 , as it is being developed in tandem with KH3 and "it’s not just in the early concept stages . . . We are actually in development.” According to the longtime Square Enix developer, he’s been giving equal effort to both of the eagerly awaited sequels.
“So right now, it’s like I’ve been putting in 100 percent into Kingdom Hearts, 100 percent into Final Fantasy 7, 100 percent into Kingdom Hearts... just going back and forth. It’s just like [working on] two titles is just going to be one [after Kingdom Hearts 3’s launch]. That’s pretty much how I see it.”
Without a doubt, many Kingdom Hearts 3 fans and those looking forward to the Final Fantasy 7 remake will be pleased to learn that they're both on track with Nomura giving them both his all while they get developed at the same time. Of course, there are also a lot of fans who could take a more skeptical perspective and see Nomura's split of attention between the two as a sign of neither project getting the direct attention it needs. After all, KH3 was delayed into 2019, but the director has said that it wasn't due to development reasons.
All things considered, fans can only hope that Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy 7 will finally reach the end of their development, with both games having been in the production pipeline for a long time. Once KH3 is off Nomura's project list, though, the FF7 remake should receive all of his attention as he works to get it just right.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is currently set to launch on January 29, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Source: The Verge