This year's D23 Disney Fan Event brought some happy news for Kingdom Hearts IV fans. Following the trailer shown during June's Nintendo Direct , Square Enix and Disney released another during last weekend's event, confirming a 2027 release window on PC , PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X|S , and Nintendo Switch 2 . However, fans fear the game will slip to 2028 , but series director Tetsuya Nomura and game co-director Tai Yasue set the record straight, reassuring them they have nothing to fear in this regard.
"At this year's D23, we're finally able to announce a release date for Kingdom Hearts IV, and I can confidently say and promise that it will launch in 2027," Yasue-san said during the Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel at this year's D23 shared on YouTube by SpottingGames . "Schedule-wise development is very smooth, it's not like an 80% thing, 90%... it's a 100% thing, so we'll be there for sure."
*"We announced that, you know, the game is going to be coming late 2027, and I saw online that some people were saying 'Oh, you know, maybe the actual release date might still get pushed back,'" Nomura-san added. "I just wanted to set the record straight - that is not happening."
With both the Kingdom Hearts IV director and co-director showing so much confidence, there's plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the game finally launching in 2027 . As Final Fantasy VII Revelation is set to be the big release for the first half of 2027 as it is launching sometime during Spring , it's the fourth entry in the series will make its debut later in the year.
As for what Kingdom Hearts IV will feature past what we have seen so far, including Mickey , Donald , and Goofy being playable, Tetsuya Nomura did not say much during the panel. He did confirm, however, that an idea for a unique world that they weren't able to realize for the third entry in the series will be in the fourth game, likely referring to a Disney concept or theme that has no representation in a movie and so, with fewer creative constraints.
"Imagining something new based on solely a certain type of concept is something that is very fun and enjoyable. And it’s also in some ways less daunting because there is no expectation of having to replicate something exactly how it is… There was a concept that we had since Kingdom Hearts 3, and we've been working on the plan, but it was quite difficult to realize," Nomura-san said. "So, it’s been evolved and will appear in Kingdom Hearts IV, so please look forward to seeing what kind of world it will be in. It’s a pretty amazing world, at least from our perspective, so please look forward to it."
No matter which Disney worlds will make the cut and how the series' terribly convoluted story will evolve, it's difficult not to feel excited about Kingdom Hearts IV finally making Donald and Goofy playable. Any other surprise will only be the icing on the cake for a year that is set to become one for the books for role-playing games.
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