Disney has officially listed Kingdom Hearts among the company’s “billion-dollar” franchises as part of a wider overview of the Disney Games Group portfolio.
The announcement, published on Disney’s official blog and accompanied by a promotional YouTube video, positions Square Enix’s long-running Final Fantasy/Disney crossover as one of nine high-value properties tied to Disney’s interactive-entertainment push.
Kingdom Hearts is a collaboration between Square Enix and Disney that began with the original release on the PlayStation 2 in 2002.
The franchise, led creatively by Tetsuya Nomura at Square Enix, grew through multiple mainline entries and numerous spin-offs and remasters—Kingdom Hearts II arrived in 2005 and Kingdom Hearts III released in January 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Over the years the series has been packaged in various HD collections and made available beyond its PlayStation origins, reflecting its status as a marquee Square Enix property.
Disney’s blog post explicitly names Kingdom Hearts alongside other successful game efforts.
It cites Marvel Strike Force by name and features a montage with footage from titles including Alien: Isolation, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Marvel’s Wolverine.
The company did not list all nine franchises individually in the post.
Sean Shoptaw, Disney’s EVP of Global Games and Digital Entertainment, framed the company’s approach to games as strategic: Disney views interactive entertainment as a foundational part of its broader storytelling business and is committed to producing original narratives that can only exist in the games medium.
In other words, Disney is treating games as an integral storytelling channel and is investing in properties that support unique, medium-specific experiences.
The move also revives discussion of Disney’s history with Lucasfilm and LucasArts.
Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 and subsequently closed LucasArts’ internal development operations in 2013, choosing to license Lucasfilm properties to external developers.
The current blog references Lucasfilm Games by name as Disney expands partnerships across established studios and franchises.
For players and industry observers on platforms such as the Nintendo Switch, as well as audiences who follow announcements via Nintendo Directs or check retail and digital storefronts like the eShop, Disney’s explicit valuation of Kingdom Hearts confirms the series’ long-term commercial importance.
Square Enix’s stewardship of the franchise and Disney’s renewed public focus on games together underscore Kingdom Hearts’ role in the intersection of console, PC, and broader entertainment strategies.
The announcement, published on Disney’s official blog and accompanied by a promotional YouTube video, positions Square Enix’s long-running Final Fantasy/Disney crossover as one of nine high-value properties tied to Disney’s interactive-entertainment push.
Kingdom Hearts is a collaboration between Square Enix and Disney that began with the original release on the PlayStation 2 in 2002.
The franchise, led creatively by Tetsuya Nomura at Square Enix, grew through multiple mainline entries and numerous spin-offs and remasters—Kingdom Hearts II arrived in 2005 and Kingdom Hearts III released in January 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Over the years the series has been packaged in various HD collections and made available beyond its PlayStation origins, reflecting its status as a marquee Square Enix property.
Disney’s blog post explicitly names Kingdom Hearts alongside other successful game efforts.
It cites Marvel Strike Force by name and features a montage with footage from titles including Alien: Isolation, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Marvel’s Wolverine.
The company did not list all nine franchises individually in the post.
Sean Shoptaw, Disney’s EVP of Global Games and Digital Entertainment, framed the company’s approach to games as strategic: Disney views interactive entertainment as a foundational part of its broader storytelling business and is committed to producing original narratives that can only exist in the games medium.
In other words, Disney is treating games as an integral storytelling channel and is investing in properties that support unique, medium-specific experiences.
The move also revives discussion of Disney’s history with Lucasfilm and LucasArts.
Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 and subsequently closed LucasArts’ internal development operations in 2013, choosing to license Lucasfilm properties to external developers.
The current blog references Lucasfilm Games by name as Disney expands partnerships across established studios and franchises.
For players and industry observers on platforms such as the Nintendo Switch, as well as audiences who follow announcements via Nintendo Directs or check retail and digital storefronts like the eShop, Disney’s explicit valuation of Kingdom Hearts confirms the series’ long-term commercial importance.
Square Enix’s stewardship of the franchise and Disney’s renewed public focus on games together underscore Kingdom Hearts’ role in the intersection of console, PC, and broader entertainment strategies.
