Kingdom Hearts 3 will be getting a DLC release within the next year, according to game director Tetsuya Nomura. The development team behind the game is already hard at work on additional content, and Nomura has stated that it will likely be a mix between free and paid premium offerings.

Kingdom Hearts 3 was tagged as one of the biggest releases of 2019, and it didn't disappoint. Despite complaints that the game's story has grown beyond the comprehension of all but its most dedicated fans, Kingdom Hearts 3 was a charming tale that won over most of its players. The game was praised for fluid, fun combat and beautiful renditions of Disney worlds, and commercial success soon followed the game's critical victories.

Related: Kingdom Hearts 3's Secret Ending: How To Unlock It & What It Means

During an interview with Dengeki Online, Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Square Enix has several plans in place for post-launch content. That will include Critical Mode, a difficulty setting that will increase how hard it is to complete the game for fans who wanted a little more out of its challenges. Kingdom Hearts 3's release plan will also include story expansion which will attempt to fill in a few of the narrative's plot holes. Nomura explained how the studio is approaching the creation of new Kingdom Hearts 3 content:

"Up to now, we've prepared a separate Final Mix package releases, but this time we're thinking of doing the additional content as DLC."

Nomura also indicated that the team is looking to finish the DLC "this year", because he wants the team to start work on their next project, whatever that may be. Nomura was then asked to discuss Kingdom Hearts 3's epilogue and secret movie, and he was very coy about whether or not there would be more explanation of it in the DLC releases:

"As like before, if there's more story, then this is the preface to that tale. With what's known at this point, it seems there are various theories about the secret movie, but it's not some simple thing."

We don't think anyone was calling Kingdom Hearts 3 simple in any context, but it's a frustrating answer for fans who wanted a little more light shed on what to expect from future content releases. At the very least, it's clear that there will be additional content, which is a win for Kingdom Hearts 3 fans. The series typically tends to introduce Critical Mode and additional content in its Final Mix releases, so this is a change in the way Square Enix is approaching the franchise.

Given how many plot holes there were in Kingdom Hearts 3, it feels like Nomura has ensured there will be story content to explore for at least a few good-sized releases. Just how many of them debut in 2019, and how many of them there are in total, remains a mystery that, like so many other things related to Kingdom Hearts, is known only by Nomura himself.

More: 30 Things About Kingdom Hearts That Make No Sense

Source: Dengeki Online (Translation by Kotaku)