Square Enix’s cancellation of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link in May 2025 ended months of speculation about the mobile game's uncertain development. While disappointing to those who anticipated its role in expanding the lore, the announcement came with a promise. The Kingdom Hearts series is still progressing, with Kingdom Hearts 4 now at the forefront of the franchise's future.
The bigger question is what becomes of the story Missing-Link was meant to tell. Tied closely to the “Lost Master” arc and meant to act as connective tissue between past and present eras, the game’s narrative may still find new life in a different format, and a possible Kingdom Hearts 3.5 release could provide that opportunity.
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A Kingdom Hearts 3.5 Release Could Work
Square Enix has used mid-numbered entries before to bridge large narrative gaps. In 2017, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue helped prepare players for Kingdom Hearts 3 by including three different components: a full remaster, a short playable story, and a cutscene movie. A similar approach could now be used to salvage Missing-Link’s story.
Instead of asking players to rely on unofficial summaries or incomplete archives, Square Enix could adapt Missing-Link into a cutscene film, similar to how Union χ Back Cover condensed years of mobile updates into one digestible narrative. This would preserve key characters like Sigurd, Brain, and the Scala ad Caelum storyline while keeping players focused on the broader arc.
The Union χ mobile game ran for several years and featured a slow rollout of crucial lore. Its retelling in Back Cover gave players a more direct way to follow major events without depending on mobile updates or fan reconstructions.
A Kingdom Hearts 3.5 package could also introduce a playable segment focused on new content. Just as 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage gave fans a taste of what Kingdom Hearts 3 would feel like, this hypothetical entry could preview mechanics or characters from Kingdom Hearts 4. Including a polished, cinematic version of Missing-Link’s story would help cleanly pass the torch to the next main title.
More Kingdom Hearts Mobile Games Deserve Closure
Missing-Link is not the only mobile title in the series with a story that remains hard to access. While Union χ and Dark Road were eventually folded into cinematic recaps, earlier games like Coded still have uneven representation in the franchise’s current collections. A Kingdom Hearts 3.5 release could fix this by adding remastered segments or enhanced story films from these titles.
These games introduced important concepts and characters that continue to affect the series. Dark Road explored Xehanort’s past, while Union χ detailed the formation of the Dandelions and the mystery behind the Keyblade War in Kingdom Hearts. Adding more content from those stories would help newcomers understand how deep the current saga goes without having to play through outdated or delisted apps.
The Kingdom Hearts mobile titles often introduced major plot threads that were later expanded in mainline games. Even minor characters or scenes from Union χ and Dark Road have shaped the events of Kingdom Hearts 3, showing how essential these side entries are to the broader story.
This approach would also make the timeline easier to follow. Right now, many fans rely on external guides and timeline breakdowns to make sense of the overarching story. A well-structured recap inside a new collection would do a better job preparing players for what’s coming next.
Kingdom Hearts 4 Benefits from Less Narrative Pressure
The cancellation of Missing-Link places more narrative weight on Kingdom Hearts 4. It is already set to kick off a new arc in a new world, with Quadratum playing a central role. The game will need to introduce new gameplay systems, new enemies, and entirely new stakes. Expecting it to also fill in the history from Missing-Link could overwhelm the story's pacing.
A Kingdom Hearts 3.5 release would help balance the load. Players who missed or never had access to the mobile games would get a chance to catch up, while those already familiar with the material could revisit it in a more polished and complete form. It would also give Square Enix space to experiment with tone and structure before fully committing to the scale and complexity of Kingdom Hearts 4.
In many ways, this kind of release fits a long-standing rhythm in the series. Smaller interlude titles like Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, and 2.8 have always served as bridges between major games, with each one providing background that enhanced the next mainline entry. A 3.5 release that includes a recap of Missing-Link would continue this trend while addressing the gap left behind by its cancellation.
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Kingdom Hearts
