‘Kingdom Hearts’ Nintendo Switch cloud versions to release next month

The collection will launch on February 10 with free playable demos for Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, 2.8 and III all available today (January 18) on the eShop.

Currently, all three of the games are 20 per cent off to pre-order together at £63.99 (with the original price £79.99/$89.99 USD). The pre-order sale ends on February 28.

Comments underneath the announcement post show that most are calling for “proper ports” of the series that run the Kingdom Hearts games natively.

The listing of the game on the Switch eShop asks players to “please use the free demo to test the availability, stability and quality of your internet connection before purchasing access to this game,” adding that players will be notified six months in advance of when the game is to be taken down from the shop.

Series producer Ichiro Hazama said last year that a native port of the Kingdom Hearts games is “undecided” due to various issues, including the storage capacity of the Nintendo Switch.

Also announced today was a 20th anniversary event for the series, taking place in Tokyo on April 10 this year, the event will include a mini concert, Q&A, chat with the development team and an exhibition.

The first Kingdom Hearts was released in Japan on March 28 2002, meaning the event will take place just as the series turns 20 years old. According to the announcement tweet there will be “much more,” and “a video of the event will be made available at a later date.”

There’s no mention if any of these events on April 10 will be livestreamed, or exactly how long after a “later date” is in terms of footage being posted online.

In other news, people in Europe can now buy PS5s directly from Sony, but only a “limited amount” are available.