Since its reveal trailer back in 2013, fans have been anxiously awaiting official news about the release date for Kingdom Hearts 3. Even as Square Enix vowed that the game would hit stores in 2018, they remained cautiously optimistic, well aware of how long the game has been in various stages of development. Today, those fans may finally have their first clue towards when Kingdom Hearts 3 will finally release.

A new posting surfaced on Target this week that highlights November 1, 2018 as the release date for Kingdom Hearts 3. The retailer is currently the only one taking pre-orders under this particular release date, and nothing has been confirmed by Square Enix thus far, but ComicBook snapped a screenshot in case it is taken down.

While November 1st makes sense in terms of timing – Square tends to prefer release dates that fall very late in the year – it also raises a few red flags. For one, November 1st falls on a Thursday, which is typically not when publishers like to release games.

target listing for kingdom hearts 3

It’s not unheard of for a new game to release on a Thursday, mind you, but most publishers choose the traditional Tuesday release or opt for Friday to capture the weekend crowd. Granted, a game as highly anticipated as Kingdom Hearts 3 does not need a specific day or date to sell well, but it is nonetheless important to point out how unlikely Thursday release dates are.

November 1st would also put Kingdom Hearts 3 in direct competition with another highly anticipated title, Red Dead Redemption 2, which releases on October 26, 2018. It’s unclear how much crossover there is between the fandoms of Rockstar’s open world Western shooter and a complex action JRPG, but two of the biggest games of the year releasing so close to each other is hard to imagine.

That’s all to say: take this retail listing with a grain of salt. Oftentimes, retailers are the first to leak release dates for games, but they are wrong more often than they are right.

As far as when Kingdom Hearts 3 fans can expect an official release date announcement from Square Enix; E3 in June seems like the best bet right now. Square may choose to hold its own event like the company did for the Final Fantasy 15 release date announcement, but right now all eyes should be focused on E3.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is set to release this year for PS4 and Xbox One.

Source: ComicBook