The incoming Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC will take what is already a great game, and make it even more fun to play.

Update January 25, 2020: The Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC has revealed new info on what we can expect in Kingdom Hearts 4. Check out our analysis on the Verum Rex Re Mind and Limitcut DLC here.

Update June 12, 2019: Square Enix has released the first Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC trailer. Here is what will be included in the first set of DLC this winter.

The trailer starts off with a conversation between Young Master Xehanort and a mysterious cloaked figure, who is believed to be the Master of Masters. YMX comments how the dark cloak he is wearing helps to fend off the darkness, and MoM asks how the “tour of the worlds” went.

YMX states that he is surprised and saddened to see just how much he was needed. These sequences mark some of the new cutscenes that are going to be included in the coming DLC.

In terms of gameplay, we see that Riku, Aqua, and Roxas will all be playable characters in their final battles in KH3. All three characters have been playable in past Kingdom Hearts games before, with both Aqua and Riku having playable sequences in Kingdom Hearts 3 itself.

Roxas’ moveset seems to be a bit updated since we last saw him, with a new ability to travel through the floor in line patterns of light being one of his new skills. Sora is then seen fighting using the Oathkeeper keyblade, which is a staple weapon in the main series Kingdom Hearts games that was conspicuously missing from KH3.

The trailer ends with Xigbar and Luxord confronting each other at the Keyblade Graveyard. “Xigbar, who are you?” asks Luxord. “Alright. It doesn’t make a difference to me anyway,” Luxord continues. “I’ll just keep playing dumb.” “The question is who are you,, Luxord?” retorts Xigbar, adding the zinger that ends the KH3 DLC trailer.

The first set of Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC has a Winter 2019 release window. Watch the reveal trailer for yourself below.

Original story: Here were our predictions prior to the DLC being announced.

Kingdom Hearts 3‘s DLC follows a long trend of including new content in later versions of the KH games, this time adding new features exclusively via the digital storefronts.

The Final Mixes of titles Kingdom Hearts 1, Kingdom Hearts 2, and Birth by Sleep added in harder difficulty, new collectables, new bosses, and even additional scenes.

While those Final Mix titles weren’t exactly DLC in that they were only available to those that purchased another full copy of that given Kingdom Hearts game, they set the trend for what is to come in the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi have seen a lot of adventure in their wayfinding, but it seems like their adventures are nowhere near over.

With the Xehanort Saga having reached its completion, it is only a matter of time until we start to put the pieces together about the Kingdom Hearts 4 plot.

Here is what we should expect out of the coming Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC.

‘Kingdom Hearts 3’ DLC

Bosses

Following the trend of the additional content that the Kingdom Hearts games bring to their remastered or ultimate versions, it’s likely that the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC will bring in the meat of the new content in the form of new boss battles. These battles are always very tough, and cannot be beaten with simple grinding. Players must instead utilize strategy and skill to squeeze their way through all of the one-hit-KO moves and fast-paced real-time action commands.

Some optional bosses that could be included might be another battle with Xigbar, in that he never died at the end of KH3. If he is the Master of Masters, we might not even see his face, making his yet another battle with a mysterious cloaked figure. Bringing back the elements of Kingdom Hearts 2 with the Data Org battles would also make sense, seeing as there weren’t one-on-one battles with the fan-favorite enemies in the main game.

New cutscenes

Every Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix title had additional cutscenes that either filled in the blanks of what happened when Sora wasn’t around, or gave hints as to what the series’ next moves are. Kingdom Hearts 1 had some pretty interesting Riku cutscenes added in, while Kingdom Hearts 2 had over 20 minutes of additional cutscenes showing the goings on of the Organization.

Kingdom Hearts 3 can take the lead here by showing us how all of the characters got to the final battle. There were far too many last minute drop-ins by fan-favorite characters, such as Xion or Roxas, that need to be explained. Perhaps we could even see what went on on the island after Sora disappeared. There is a lot of potential storytelling here, and knowing the Kingdom Hearts series, that was done on purpose.

Riku’s story

We got to play as Riku for just a bit in Kingdom Hearts 3, but that Realm of Darkness segment was far too quick. He had some crazy moves, like the ability to turn into a dark ball of energy as he dodged around the stage. Why weren’t we given more time to play as Sora and Kairi’s best friend?

One could only assume that there will be more gameplay of Riku and Mickey in the Realm. Not only is the gameplay for them fully developed, but the story is set up to show more of their struggles to fend off the darkness. Riku was playable as a main protagonist in Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance, so maybe we’ll get a lot more playtime as him in the KH3 DLC than we’re expecting to.

Kairi’s story

Kairi’s fighting skills, or lack thereof, were one of the biggest disappointments of KH3. She was apparently training with Lea/Axel for some time, but she didn’t get too much time on the battlefield to effectively demonstrate the skills that she had learned under Master Yen Sid. She’s a keyblade wielder, but she probably killed more Heartless shadows in her haphazard Kingdom Hearts 2 battle than she did in the latest title.

This is the perfect opportunity to give Kairi more to do, and to show that she put up more of a fight than what we saw before Master Xehanort took her life. She was fighting the Real Organization members, but we didn’t get to see any of that fighting either. Perhaps similar to Sora’s story, we get to see how she regains her heart in the in-between world. Whatever way it comes, we need to play as Kairi for the first time in the series’ history in the KH3 DLC.

‘KH3’ DLC difficulty mode

So far, there is a free DLC that includes a Critical Mode difficulty for the game. We can expect more DLC to drop for the game throughout the year, with a ReMIND DLC being teased at a recent Kingdom Hearts Orchestra concert.