Square Enix has cancelled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, its GPS-based action RPG that was in development for iOS and Android mobile devices, but recommitted to the ongoing development of Kingdom Heart IV.
Announced back in 2022, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was looking to latch onto that Pokémon Go market with a planned launch in 2024. However, it was delayed at pretty much the last minute in November last year, and has now been cancelled entirely.
While I’m sure fans of this genre of mobile game were looking forward to a fresh take on it, separate to Niantic’s numerous entries, Square Enix determined that they just weren’t making a good game for the long haul. “We determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time,” they admit.
The much more important point for Kingdom Hearts fans is that Square Enix are still full steam ahead on Kingdom Hearts 4. This was also announced back in 2022, a good few years after Kingdom Hearts 3’s release, and will kick off the new Lost Master Arc narrative. The lingering question will be how Missing-Link’s narrative will be folded into the next main game. Given how convoluted the Kingdom Hearts story is, how it’s been spread across so many different games and platforms (before its collated remasters), and how deeply invested the fanbase is in dredging up every morsel of story, it’s kind of appropriate that some of this will be lost or repurposed from a game called Missing-Link.
Here’s the full announcement from Square Enix:
We have made the decision to cancel the development of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link.
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.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to everyone who gave us their support and assistance with the multiple closed beta tests. We are truly sorry to have to make this announcement.
The Kingdom Hearts series will continue. We are hard at work on Kingdom Hearts IV, and hope you’ll continue to support the series as you keep an eye out for further updates.
Source: Square Enix
