In a recent interview, game creator Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Kingdom Hearts III is now being developed on Unreal Engine 4. Oh. Alright, then.
It was largely assumed that Square Enix was using an in-house game engine for Kingdom Hearts III like it is for Final Fantasy XV. That would make sense, no?
The Unreal Engine 4, of course, is developed by Epic Games. Square Enix has used the engine’s earlier iteration in the past, such as for The Last Remnant. Square Enix Europe also uses the Unreal Engine.
Talking with Famitsu, Nomura explained, “Development is steadily proceeding as planned. Due to the impact of changing the game engine to Unreal Engine 4, which we did for various reasons, there is some difficulty rendering images. And with the full support of Epic Games, we’ll be able to progress smoothly.”
The Unreal Engine 4, though, does look fantastic (here, here, and here). So hey, whatever helps them get this game out the door. Eventually. Go for it.
For more from Nomura about Kingdom Hearts III, be sure to check Kotaku‘s previous coverage.
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2 responses to “Kingdom Hearts III Is Being Made With Unreal Engine 4”
Is any one really surprised? The engine is really good.
The idea behind not using the previously planned crystal engine, is because that team are currently located and working closely with the FFXV team. So since the crystal engine is unfinished and they don’t have any engine devs in the same studio to help out. Using Unreal engine means that they don’t need to delay KH III development until after FFXV is completed or even consider taking people away from that team to help.