During a 20th anniversary event for the series in Japan, Square Enix officially revealed the next installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, Kingdom Hearts 4.
The 4th installment in the beloved franchise was announced via a debut trailer at the ending of the anniversary event. The trailer shows a mature Sora, as well as Donald and Goofy, thereby seemingly departing from the cartoonish ‘cute’ style of the previous games in the series. The trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 opens with the following line: “f this isn’t the ending you desired- if it brings you despair- then leave this world for another”.
Based on the trailer that Square Enix showed, the game is set in Quadratum (the world of Kingdom Hearts III) – the “other side of reality” where the worlds are foreign to light and dark. Check out the debut trailer alongside some screenshots for Kingdom Hearts 4 below:
According to several outlets, the debut video was made with the game running in Unreal Engine 4, but the next Kingdom Hearts entry will actually move to Unreal Engine 5 as this will be an easy transition for the developers.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is using Unreal Engine 4 but the developers will be moving it to Unreal Engine 5 since its an easy transition. No E3 so obviously KH4 is skipping.https://t.co/tUrHKHSlZU
— Miraculous Maku #KH20th (@RedMakuzawa) April 10, 2022
No additional details about the game’s release date or platforms were revealed. As always, we’ll update you as soon as we learn more about the game. For now, stay tuned.
The first entry in the Kingdom Hearts series was released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2002.
“‘Kingdom Hearts’ is a unique undertaking and opportunity for Disney Interactive on so many levels: we’re working in alliance with one of the world’s leading interactive entertainment companies; we’re launching new characters for The Walt Disney Co., and we’re creating breakthrough creative content on an advanced platform that allows us to push the boundaries of 3D animation and design, and tell a new story with an unprecedented fusion of Disney characters and movie worlds,” said Jan Smith, then president, Disney Interactive back in 2001.
“This game represents the most recent expansion of Disney Interactive content into categories of entertainment products and genres that broaden our reach to new and older audiences throughout the world.”
