Kingdom Hearts III is finally coming out tomorrow after nearly a decade in the series. Prior to its release, Square Enix has warned gamers not to stream the game commercially.
For many gamers who livestream games on their respective channels, this has come as bad news. Players who begin the game will be shown a warning message notifying them that the companies behind the game are applying some limitations.
The game’s title screen will show a button labeled “before you stream”, which upon pressing will produce this message:
This game is a copyrighted work. The copyright is held by The Walt Disney Company and a collaboration of authors representing The Walt Disney Company. Additionally, the copyright of certain characters is held by Square Enix Co, Ltd.
You are free to stream the game in non-commercial contexts. However, using the streams of the game to primarily provide or listen to the music is prohibited even in such non-commercial contexts.
For more information on the terms of use related to streaming the game, please see the official Kingdom Hearts site. https://kingdomhearts.com/3
There are no more details as you what is allowed and what isn’t for streamers, but for now it does seem that some areas of the game will be restricted from used in streaming channels.
With no clear details and the game out in just a day, streamers would still be in doubt as to how to go about with the game and its live streaming. Hopefully, Square Enix will clarify about this rule, or revisit their policy in order to let gamers stream freely.
Regardless of the prohibition, many streamers on Twitch and Youtube were seen streaming Kingdom Hearts III when the game went on sale in Japan and when the streaming embargo lifted for reviews.
Does this mean that Square Enix and Disney’s message to streamers is pricing not to be very restrictive? Our guess is that we will find out tomorrow when the game launches worldwide, and when gamers begin streaming it.
What do you think of the Square Enix not allowing commercial streaming of the game? Let us know in the comments below.
