KHML more than delayed

[lolbigchit 0]

Hi! This is my first post here.

I've been talking about this for almost a year now, since before the official delay last year.

I have reason to believe that KHML will ultimately be scrapped or rebranded.

 

Here are my reasons:

SE and Tetsuya Nomura have mentioned multiple times how things are shifting within the company, making small projects harder to develop. Budgets are getting tighter, and funding is being redirected to bigger projects.

SE's leadership has changed, and with it, the overall direction of the company. I believe the new leadership is sidelining Nomura and limiting his influence over financial decisions.

Disney also seems to be making changes. Back in the early 2000s, they gave Nomura free rein to use their IPs as he saw fit. However, since KH3, Disney has become much more restrictive with its properties—likely due to how big Kingdom Hearts has become.

Last year, Nomura stated that he wanted to release KHML when it was warm. In the northern hemisphere (I live in Canada), days are getting longer, and it's finally not freezing all the time anymore. I wouldn't say it's warm yet, but it's definitely not cold. If they were planning a spring release, they'd already be ramping up the marketing cycle. The fact that they're not suggests that something is wrong.

There are probably more reasons, and I'm sure others can add to this...

If KHML does release in mid-to-late summer...

I think there would be a decent wave of initial players, but the majority of the potential player base will have moved on to other games and activities. Most casual players who only follow the main series likely won't pay much attention to it. Of course, dedicated fans like us—who have played all the games and think about KH daily—will probably play it no matter what.

In conclusion:

The most likely outcome is that KHML gets scrapped and reworked into something else. If they do go through with a delayed release, the game will probably flop—development costs will outweigh profits by a significant margin, leading SE executives to discontinue it.

Here's hoping they announce something before May. If not, everything I've said here will likely happen.

(For almost a year now, I've been talking about this on Reddit. I've been told to shut up and that I was wrong. I really wish I was wrong, but honestly, it feels kind of vindicating now.)

[FadedSparkle 21]

^The above post should be merged into the Missing Link general chat thread rather than the start of its own thread.

[WakelessDream 2,286]

3 hours ago, FadedSparkle said:

^The above post should be merged into the Missing Link general chat thread rather than the start of its own thread.

It’s actually completely fine as a stand alone thread. The ML general chat thread(as well as other general chat threads) only exist to allow folks to participate in the discord server’s discussions as a way to bridge communities on both server and site. These are much more casual and short form discussions and aren’t treated as traditional forum topics.

On topic though - the communication or lack thereof surrounding the game is definitely concerning. I don’t know if scrapped is the way it’s going but would agree if/when it releases the playerbase may taper off relatively quickly, while there’s still interest in it seems like a lot are put off by the fact that it’s mobile and gacha. I do hope we see something of it eventually but am not holding my breath if not. 

 

[Ursalink 114]

As the song says "The waiting is the hardest thing". 

[SoraDaxjer28 263]

If it gets cancelled, then it could mean that "'Kingdom Hearts IV'" is the new main focus, and Tetsuya Nomura is going to have to add at least some of the missing lore from "'Kingdom Hearts:  Missing Link'" into it so players are not completely lost with the story once they start it.  At the absolute worst, Square Enix and Disney have chosen to go their separate ways, Disney has taken all rights of the series, and the franchise is now virtually finished.  The concept of leaving a story incomplete is not unheard in the New Media industries; the last version of "Monster High" had its live-action trilogy cut short by one film, which caused a cliff-hanger.

Of course, that is the true worse case scenario, and I still hope it does not take place.  KH should continue to exist for at least another few decades (if not centuries).

Until I see and//or hear more about either of these projects, I shall remain focused on "'Final Fantasy XIV Online'".