Kingdom Hearts fans got a double dose of news at Disney's D23 event on Friday: a firm release window for Kingdom Hearts 4, a fresh trailer showing off a Pixar-based world, and confirmation that an anime series is in the works.
Kingdom Hearts 4 lands in late 2027
Square Enix and Disney confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 4 will launch in "late 2027." The new 90-second trailer centered on a world based on Pixar's 2017 film Coco, the Day of the Dead story. According to Polygon, the footage shows Coco stars Miguel and Hector rendered close to their movie appearances, with Sora wearing Dia de Muertos face paint while battling Heartless Shadows with his keyblade. The trailer also revealed a Coco-themed keyblade built from guitars, sugar skulls, bones, and marigolds.
Beyond the new world, the trailer offered glimpses of Sora and friends back in Quadratum facing giant Heartless invading the city, along with brief monologuing from Mickey Mouse and a conversation between Goofy and Hades. Kotaku notes that Mickey, Donald, and Goofy appear to be searching for Sora following the events of Kingdom Hearts III, and that Sora may be separated from Donald and Goofy across some Disney worlds, since neither shows up in the Coco segment.
Polygon reports that Kingdom Hearts 4 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and Xbox Series X. Earlier this summer, Square Enix confirmed the game would be available on Switch 2 on day one, following its first new gameplay footage in four years.
An anime series is in development
Disney also announced a Kingdom Hearts anime series headed to Disney+ and the Disney Channel. According to the reveal, the show is being made in collaboration with series director Tetsuya Nomura and the creative team at Square Enix. Disney described it as a series that "reimagines the iconic adventure with a brand-new story that will expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts while celebrating the characters that have captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world."
Kotaku reports the show will apparently not follow Sora, Donald, and Goofy, instead telling a new story set in the Kingdom Hearts universe. With Nomura involved, the outlet suggests the series is likely to be canon and could carry consequences for the games going forward. No release window, cast, or other details were shared.
More to come this weekend
According to Kotaku, the D23 reveals weren't the end of it. A separate panel dedicated entirely to Kingdom Hearts was scheduled for the following day at 4:30 p.m. Pacific / 7:30 p.m. Eastern, and unlike the main D23 presentation, it will be livestreamed on the official Kingdom Hearts YouTube channel.
For anyone tracking the release calendar, Kingdom Hearts 4 now has a real target: late 2027, across current platforms and the Switch 2. It's still a long wait, but the Coco world and a wide platform spread give fans plenty to chew on until the dedicated panel and, eventually, launch.