Kingdom Hearts 3 on Nintendo Switch reportedly never going to happen

By Aaron Mamiit Published February 17, 2019

Kingdom Hearts 3, the l0ng-awaited return of the series for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, reportedly may never arrive to the Nintendo Switch.

Reviews on Kingdom Hearts 3, including Digital Trends’ own, heaped praise on the Disney and Square Enix collaboration, for its beautiful worlds, exciting combat system, and epic boss battles among many other things. There were rumors that it would eventually find its way on the Nintendo Switch, and director Tetsuya Nomura recently further teased the possibility.

However, in an episode of the Kinda Funny Games Daily Show, Game Informer’s senior editor Imran Khan revealed that the chances of Kingdom Hearts 3 on the Nintendo Switch are not looking too good at the moment.

“Last I heard, there was a talk between Nintendo and Square Enix about what they could do with Kingdom Hearts 3,” Khan said. “It was deemed unfeasible to get Kingdom Hearts 3 on the Switch.”

Khan, who is considered as a reliable source for the accuracy of his reports on such information in the past, added that Kingdom Hearts 3 was “very demanding.” The Nintendo Switch supports Unreal Engine 4, on which the RPG was made with, but the hybrid console does not have enough power to run the game smoothly.

Not all hope is lost for Nintendo Switch owners though. Khan raised the possibility that instead of Kingdom Hearts 3, the HD re-releases of the previous games in the series, possibly a version of the Kingdom Hearts — The Story So Far bundle released last year, will make its way to the Nintendo Switch. Khan admitted that he was unsure on this, and if development has already started, but he said that this is probably what Square Enix settled on to bring the franchise to the console.

In the absence of an official announcement from Square Enix, and despite the reliability of Khan as a source, gamers should take the rumor with a grain of salt. It may be true that the Nintendo Switch is not currently powerful enough to run Kingdom Hearts 3. However, amid rumors of a planned upgrade to the console, a new Nintendo Switch in the future may be able to run the RPG.

Topics

Contributor

Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…

Gaming

Nintendo confirms that Switch 2 and a June Direct are coming

A Nintendo Switch Red and Blue system.

Nintendo has finally confirmed two important things that people were speculating about. First off, we learned that another Nintendo Direct showcase will be taking place this June. More importantly, Nintendo finally confirmed that it is working on a Nintendo Switch successor and said we'd learn more about it within this fiscal year.

This all came from a statement by President Shuntaro Furukawa on Nintendo's corporate X (formerly Twitter) account. "We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015," the post confirms. "We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation."

Gaming

Hades 2 shows the Steam Deck’s biggest advantage over the Nintendo Switch

A Steam Deck sits next to a Switch OLED.

It's always an exciting week when the sequel to one of the greatest games of all time surprise releases on a Monday. That's what happened on May 6 when Hades 2 surprise launched into early access. Players are already diving into the surprisingly robust roguelike, testing their might in its new biomes. I've been enjoying it myself from the comfort of my couch -- and not on my Nintendo Switch, where I played the first Hades. Instead, I'm curled up with my Steam Deck.

The PC-only launch means that Hades 2 is a Steam Deck "exclusive" for the time being (or at least exclusive to portable PCs like it and the Asus ROG Ally). It'll likely come to Nintendo's system -- or its predecessor -- once it hits 1.0, but developer Supergiant doesn't expect its game to leave early access until at least the end of 2024. Until then, you'll need a device like the Steam Deck to play it on the go. That's a reminder that Valve has beaten the Switch at its own game, and Nintendo will have to get creative again with its next system to regain its throne.
Early access on the go
Based on my time with it so far, Hades 2 is a phenomenal match for the Steam Deck. It's already Verified for the platform, and for good reason. It looks fantastic (especially on an OLED screen) and runs smoothly. I've already taken it on the go and found that it's not a huge drain on the Steam Deck's battery. At this point, I don't imagine I'll need to play it any other way.

Gaming

3 retro classics to play on Nintendo Switch Online this weekend (May 3-5)

Kirby and his friends post in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror art.

With rumors of a new Nintendo console heating up, it's once again time to accept that the Switch's long lifespan is coming to its end. 2024 will likely be the system's last full year before a successor steals its thunder. That's apparent in Nintendo's recent first-party offerings, as the system is getting a lot of remasters and niche curveballs this year. As exclusives like Endless Ocean: Luminous underwhelm, you may have found yourself looking for reasons to fire up your Switch.

Thankfully, you have a lot of great excuses to do so if you're subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online. The service is home to plenty of classic games from the NES up to the Nintendo 64. Even if you're a game historian, there's a good chance you haven't played everything Switch Online has to offer. This weekend, I have three recommendations for anyone looking to fire up some great, old games. These aren't random picks; I've chosen three games that feel spiritually linked to some of this spring's biggest games.
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror