Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link Cancelled After Years in Development, What Went Wrong?

On what should have been an ordinary evening, fans of the Kingdom Hearts franchise were blindsided by a jarring update: Square Enix officially announced the cancellation of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link. A mobile game long shrouded in uncertainty and delays, Missing-Link was positioned to serve as a connective narrative tissue between the enigmatic events of past titles and the highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts 4.

Now, after nearly six years of development, multiple beta tests, and unfulfilled promises, it has been completely scrapped. For longtime followers of the series, the news raises as many questions as it does frustrations.

The cancellation was formally revealed in a public statement from Square Enix, which read:

“We have made the decision to cancel the development of Missing-Link. We wish to convey our heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been looking forward to the start of the service. Although we worked hard on developing and adjusting the game in the hope that it would be enjoyed by many 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.”

It’s a rare move for a company like Square Enix to outright cancel a project after years of investment and closed beta testing. Yet in hindsight, many warning signs were already visible.

Originally announced in 2022, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was billed as a mobile GPS-based ARPG with gacha elements, evoking comparisons to Pokémon GO and Dragon Quest Walk. It was meant to bridge the story gap between Kingdom Hearts Union χ and the main series by adding new characters and storylines, supposedly tie into Kingdom Hearts 4.

Despite early fanfare and pre-registration promises, the game gradually slipped into development limbo. Beta testing took place in some areas, but important goals like a world pre-registration or release date never came true.

The main problem with Missing-Link was that it relied too much on GPS-based games, which has a history of not being very popular outside of certain regions. While Pokémon GO became a cultural phenomenon upon release in 2016, few other titles have replicated that level of mainstream success.

Dragon Quest Walk, while moderately successful in Japan, failed to catch on elsewhere. The design philosophy behind Missing-Link required players to physically move in the real world to generate energy (AP), which would then allow them to play more content at home. For those outside of Japan, the chances were always against it because it was a niche mechanic aimed at a niche audience.

Now that we look back, the choice to add GPS functionality to a Kingdom Hearts game seems very strange. Many fans had hoped for a console-based spinoff instead of a mobile gacha game for a brand that has fans all over the world and a long history of stories. The game was said to have a great story that was based on official fiction, but it was hampered by systems that required constant physical activity and relied heavily on microtransactions.

Missing-Link was never just a game either. It was sold as a necessary step before Kingdom Hearts 4. As late as 2023, important people in the series, like Tetsuya Nomura, said that playing Missing-Link would help set the scene for characters and plot developments in the next main entry.

Since Missing-Link has been scrapped, it looks like a lot more time has been cleared up for Kingdom Hearts 4. Without the mobile game acting as a narrative gatekeeper, fans can expect the full development focus and perhaps even some narrative content originally intended for Missing-Link to shift toward the next major title.

The cancellation also reflects broader shifts within Square Enix. Following leadership changes in early 2024, the company has shown increasing caution toward ambitious live-service projects.

In recent months, several underperforming or unviable titles have been reevaluated or discontinued, especially those relying on ongoing monetization models. This strategic pivot is clearly influencing which projects move forward and which ones are shelved, even those that have consumed significant time and resources.

As a result of this move, the development team previously divided between Missing-Link and Kingdom Hearts 4 is now expected to be consolidated. Because of this, work on KH4, a game that has already caused a lot of excitement since its sudden release in April 2022, could go faster. Since Missing-Link has been canceled, there is no longer a story requirement that stands in the way of fans reading the next part of Sora's story.

Even so, the situation is still sad. Behind every canceled game lies a team of developers who spent years of their lives shaping a vision that will never fully see the light of day. Multiple closed beta tests had already been held, content creators had been approached for promotional partnerships, and players around the world were eager for news. Now, all of that work has been rendered obsolete, at least in its original form.

Yet hope is not entirely lost for the ideas and stories born from Missing-Link. Given the importance of its narrative links and the existing assets created for the game, it is entirely possible that parts of it will be reimagined or reworked into a future Kingdom Hearts title, perhaps even as a proper console experience, free from the limitations of the gacha format and GPS mechanics.

The irony of it all is not lost on fans. Missing Link was meant to explore “the missing history” of the Kingdom Hearts universe, how lost knowledge and erased timelines shaped the present. Now, the game itself has become a missing chapter in the real-world history of the franchise, a digital ghost of what might have been.

Between six and eight months ago, news about Kingdom Hearts was all over the place. It's been more uncertain than ever for fans since KH4 was pushed back and Missing Link was abruptly canceled.

There's also talk about Tetsuya Nomura's possible future role in the series. But in the middle of all the chaos, the way forward looks better now. The next game on the horizon is no longer a mobile side project but the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 4.

As June approaches, attention turns once more to what lies ahead. If Square Enix shares more substantial updates on KH4 during upcoming showcases, it could mark the beginning of a new chapter, one focused solely on console storytelling, grand-scale action, and the heart of what has always made Kingdom Hearts beloved.

While Missing-Link may be gone, the future of the franchise endures, and perhaps, it’s stronger for it.