Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company used the Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts panel at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event to debut a four-minute extended trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4, marking the series' 25th anniversary.
The panel featured co-director Tai Yasue, Disney and Pixar Games director of product development Nana Gadd, and Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura as a surprise guest, and expanded on details first hinted at in an earlier 90-second teaser.
The new trailer introduces Pixar’s Coco as the first confirmed new world for Kingdom Hearts 4 and presents the modern metropolis of Quadratum as the unfamiliar setting where Sora awakens.
For the first time in footage tied to this title, Riku appears on-screen, and the trailer confirms that Mickey, Donald and Goofy will all be playable characters.
The sequence closes with a mysterious voice urging Sora to "wake up and see," underscoring the game's more enigmatic tone.
Square Enix's product description for the game frames the narrative around Sora's disorientation in Quadratum and the separate search undertaken by his companions.
In journalistic terms: Sora regains consciousness in a strange, modern city and seeks a path back to his own world, while Donald and Goofy venture into the Underworld in search of clues to his location.
The publisher also highlights a retooled combat system, describing a dynamic, fast-paced approach that combines attacks and magic, supports new combo mechanics, and lets players change Keyblades to trigger unique attacks tailored to different play styles.
Kingdom Hearts 4 will be available at retail and digitally via the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide in late 2027.
The D23 presentation served both as a celebration of Kingdom Hearts' two-and-a-half-decade legacy and as a substantive update on the title's worlds, playable cast, and combat ambitions ahead of its late-2027 release window.
Credit: Trailer and panel information confirmed by Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company at D23; panel participants included Tai Yasue, Nana Gadd and Tetsuya Nomura.
The panel featured co-director Tai Yasue, Disney and Pixar Games director of product development Nana Gadd, and Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura as a surprise guest, and expanded on details first hinted at in an earlier 90-second teaser.
The new trailer introduces Pixar’s Coco as the first confirmed new world for Kingdom Hearts 4 and presents the modern metropolis of Quadratum as the unfamiliar setting where Sora awakens.
For the first time in footage tied to this title, Riku appears on-screen, and the trailer confirms that Mickey, Donald and Goofy will all be playable characters.
The sequence closes with a mysterious voice urging Sora to "wake up and see," underscoring the game's more enigmatic tone.
Square Enix's product description for the game frames the narrative around Sora's disorientation in Quadratum and the separate search undertaken by his companions.
In journalistic terms: Sora regains consciousness in a strange, modern city and seeks a path back to his own world, while Donald and Goofy venture into the Underworld in search of clues to his location.
The publisher also highlights a retooled combat system, describing a dynamic, fast-paced approach that combines attacks and magic, supports new combo mechanics, and lets players change Keyblades to trigger unique attacks tailored to different play styles.
Kingdom Hearts 4 will be available at retail and digitally via the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide in late 2027.
The D23 presentation served both as a celebration of Kingdom Hearts' two-and-a-half-decade legacy and as a substantive update on the title's worlds, playable cast, and combat ambitions ahead of its late-2027 release window.
Credit: Trailer and panel information confirmed by Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company at D23; panel participants included Tai Yasue, Nana Gadd and Tetsuya Nomura.
