Rumor mills have been swirling a slew of speculations around "Kingdom Hearts 3" hinting that the highly-anticipated action role-playing game will hit the store shelves late 2017. This speculation stems from concerns raised by followers regarding the lack of update about the game.

It can be recalled that an official trailer for "Kingdom Hearts 3" was released during E3 2016. Since then, avid gamers have been waiting with bated breath for an update regarding the title.

Surprisingly, the developer has opted to remain tight-lipped and has neither divulged any sort of details about the game's release date nor has offered any sort of other update. No prizes for guessing; this has left gamers totally clueless as far as the game's release date is concerned and has built up frustration among them. Some discontented fans now hazard a guess that the game will not be released until 2020.

Several Reddit users however are still hopeful that the highly-anticipated game will either be released by late 2017 or early 2018. While Reddit user keepurselfsafe cited the fact that Amazon already accepts pre-orders for the title in order to justify his release date prediction, another Reddit user said it may just be a placeholder date, Yibada reported.

Quite a few gamers, who seem to be getting impatient with the release date information, claimed the game may even be launched as late as 2020. Another Reddit user debunks that possibility saying that "Kingdom Hearts 3" may release next year provided the developer sticks to its previous release date pattern.

Meanwhile Kingdom Hearts 3's series creator, director and co-director have already opened up about their thoughts on the title. Creator and director Tetsuya Nomura highlighted the significance of "Kingdom Hearts 2.8" and "Kingdom Hearts 3D" to title of "KH3."

The game's co-director also shared his thoughts noting that the 2016 "Kingdom Hearts" games will pave the way for the much-awaited "KH3" by helping gamers understand the impending installment.

Optimistic fans are anticipating more information on "Kingdom Hearts 3" will surface once "KH 2.8" is released. "Kingdom Hearts 2.8" is slated to hit the store shelves in December 2016.

Watch the video below for more information surrounding "Kingdom Hearts."

Meanwhile, some fans are speculating that Kairi will become a playable character in the upcoming installment.

Zealous "Kingdom Hearts" fans are really hopeful Princess Kairi becomes a fully playable character, especially when the developer released a trailer for "Kingdom Hearts 2" showing the princess holding a keyblade, Mobile&Apps reported.

Since fans have realized that the character was not playable in the second installment, hopes are now high the princess will be a playable character in the third installment.

However, these are mere speculations and readers are advised to take these rumors with a grain of salt.