Kingdom Hearts 3 will end story arc, but not overall series

Square Enix game director Tetsuya Nomura has said in an LA Times interview that the current Kingdom Hearts story arc will end with Kingdom Hearts 3.

However, the franchise will continue after the release of the third game. Nomura explained that Kingdom Hearts 3 isn't part of a "trilogy," but added that story elements that were introduced in 2002 will be wrapped up and come to a close.

"There was never a plan [at first]. As a core game, this is finally the third, and 10 years have passed. I couldn't call this a trilogy. There have been so many spinoffs. In Kingdom Hearts 3, the battles that the characters have been fighting for the past 10 years will come to a conclusion. But the series will continue. Only the particular enemy they have been fighting the past 10 years will come to an end," he said.

Nomura hinted that Kingdom Hearts 3 will head in the direction of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance from a gameplay perspective. The game's combat system was an early guide for the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One action role-playing game.