Summary
It’s hard being a Kingdom Hearts fan.After multiple delays, Square Enix has announced thatKingdom Hearts: Missing Linkhas officially been cancelled. What was supposed to be a way for KH fans to enjoy the series in the form of a live-service, reportedly with thebest world line-up in the series, will no longer have a full release.
Announced in 2022alongside KH4, Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link was touted tofill the long gaps between mainline entries. Fans were excited to get a new entry in the series, even though it was a live-service mobile game, but it seems even those hopes have been dashed now, as the dev team has announced that it won’t be able to put out enough content for the game over a long period of time,even after two closed betas.
Square Enix Cancels Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link
“We have made the decision to cancel the development of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link,” said a post on the game’s Twitter account. “We wish to convey our heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been looking forward to the start of service.
“Although we worked hard on developing and adjusting the game in the hope that it would be enjoyed by lots of players, we determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time, leading us to the decision to cancel development.”
It seems that despite putting out two closed beta tests, the developers felt that they would not be able to keep up the momentum in the long run. This comes as part of a series of live-action game cancellations in the industry. While this was the official reason given for the cancellation, the real reason could be the lack of confidence in the live-service model.
While fans are disappointed, not many of them are surprised at the decision. “I’d rather they cancel a project they know isn’t working then release a bad product,” saidone comment on the KH subreddit. At least they were honest that the game just wasn’t coming together.”
However, all hope is not lost, as the announcement concluded with “The Kingdom Hearts series will continue. We are hard at work on The Kingdom Hearts IV, and hope you’ll continue to support the series as you keep an eye out for further updates.”
