'Kingdom Hearts 3' release date, latest news: Title ranks ninth on Famitsu's most anticipated games list

A screenshot from "Kingdom Hearts 3" Square Enix

"Kingdom Hearts" is a thriving franchise with two compilations arriving in early 2017. However, "Kingdom Hearts 3" has not been mentioned in the past few months, and despite the lack of marketing, it is still one of the top 10 most anticipated games.

According to an official chart from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything), "Kingdom Hearts 3" ranks ninth. "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" lags behind it in the tenth spot, and "Nioh" is ahead in the eighth spot. "Resident Evil 7" took the seventh spot, and "Yakuza 6" took the sixth.

The 3DS port of "Dragon Quest XI" is in the fifth spot, and its PS4 port took the fourth spot. "Final Fantasy VII Remake" takes the third spot, and the now released "Pokemon Sun and Moon" games took the second spot. "Final Fantasy XV" is currently on the top spot, with 1,092 votes.

The report reveals that this feat is amazing, given that "Kingdom Hearts 3" has seen very little marketing since it was announced in 2013. Square Enix is expected to start boosting their efforts in marketing the game after "Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue" and "Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix" are released in 2017.

Of the two games, "Final Chapter Prologue" is going to roll out on Jan. 24 in the US, and the latter will be released on March 28. It is now expected that once these two have launched, Square-Enix will release more trailers for "Kingdom Hearts 3."

Nova Crystalis, the official media source for developer Square Enix, pointed this out as well on Twitter when they posted a new image for "Kingdom Hearts 3.

As it stands, the game is expected to be released by late 2017 or 2018. Square Enix also has yet to announce a release date for the "Final Fantasy VII Remake," and either game could roll out first. If "Kingdom Hearts 3" launches in late 2017, then "Final Fantasy VII Remake" will be pushed to 2018 and vice versa.

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