FF7 Remake Part 3 and Kingdom Hearts 4: Square Enix's 2026 Update

For fans of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Kingdom Hearts, the wait between major announcements has often felt like an endurance challenge. As 2026 gets underway, that familiar mixture of anticipation and anxiety has not completely disappeared, but Square Enix and project director Tetsuya Nomura have offered some small yet important reassurances. Both Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 and Kingdom Hearts 4 are still moving forward, even if neither title has received a massive public blowout yet. The big question, naturally, is how long players will actually have to wait before the next real update arrives.

Nomura's Message: Smooth Progress, Locked Plans

According to Square Enix, Nomura stated that development on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 is progressing smoothly. More importantly, he revealed that the announcement timing has already been decided and that the team intends to stick to that schedule. That is a meaningful detail because it suggests Square Enix is not simply improvising its marketing rollout. There is an internal plan, and the studio appears committed to following it.

Nomura also reassured fans that Kingdom Hearts 4 development is progressing smoothly. Still, sounding steady and looking close are two very different things. For Kingdom Hearts 4, the public-facing updates remain thin, which is exactly why so many players feel stuck in a waiting room.

Why Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Could Arrive Sooner

One of the biggest concerns among fans is whether the wait between Rebirth and Part 3 will mirror the lengthy gap between Remake and Rebirth. That first gap stretched across roughly four years and included a jump to a new console generation, which added obvious complications. With Rebirth, Square Enix already built the open-world structure, introduced the core cast, and established major combat and exploration systems. Because of that foundation, Part 3 should have a smoother development path.

Does that guarantee a much shorter wait? Not necessarily, but the logic is fairly sound. A sequel that reuses and refines existing systems can often move faster than one that has to build everything from scratch. If production continues smoothly, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 could beat the previous gap by a comfortable margin. Whether that translates to a release window in the near future is another matter entirely.

Kingdom Hearts 4: Still Further Away?

Kingdom Hearts 4 is harder to read. Square Enix shared updated screenshots back in May 2025, but the silence since then has been noticeable. Fans got a stylish look at Sora in the announcement trailer, but there has been little follow-up to explain how the larger game will evolve.

Part of the challenge is Square Enix's crowded slate. Between the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster, Final Fantasy 7 Remake coming to Switch 2, Dragon Quest 12, and numerous other projects, Kingdom Hearts 4 has plenty of internal competition for attention. Even if development is going well, marketing will likely be spaced out to give each release room to breathe.

So why is Kingdom Hearts 4 taking so long? That is the question many fans keep asking, and while Square Enix has not given a detailed breakdown, the scale of the series has grown considerably. Modern Kingdom Hearts titles must balance Disney collaboration, original storylines, action-heavy gameplay, and increasingly detailed visuals. That combination makes a quick turnaround unlikely.

Events and Announcement Timing

Tokyo Game Show 2025 came and went without Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 or Kingdom Hearts 4 appearing in the lineup. That made The Game Awards in December look like the final major stage of the year for a potential reveal. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 seemed like the more plausible candidate because Nomura had confirmed that the announcement plan was locked. Kingdom Hearts 4, on the other hand, would have been a far bigger surprise, especially given Square Enix's need to market other products first.

As 2026 continues, the smart expectation is that Square Enix will prioritize clarity for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 before turning its full promotional energy toward Kingdom Hearts 4. An official title and release window for Part 3 would go a long way toward calming frustrated fans, even if the actual launch is still further out. For Kingdom Hearts 4, patience remains essential.

The good news is that neither game appears to be stuck. Both are progressing, and Square Enix seems to have a strategy in place. The bad news, if it can be called that, is that strategy still demands waiting.

Ultimately, 2026 could be a defining year for Square Enix's biggest sequels. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 has the momentum and the internal schedule to finally step into the spotlight. Kingdom Hearts 4 may still be simmering in the background, but even a small update would help fans remember that Sora's next journey is still on the way. Until then, the waiting game continues.

The following breakdown is based on VentureBeat GamesBeat, whose reporting on publisher strategy and development pipelines helps frame why Square Enix might keep Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 and Kingdom Hearts 4 on tightly managed reveal schedules. When major franchises share production resources and compete for marketing windows, studios often stagger announcements to minimize overlap and protect each release’s runway—making “progressing smoothly” compatible with longer periods of public silence while internal milestones continue to be met.