Square Enix and Disney finally gave Kingdom Hearts IV a release window. During a D23 2026 showcase, a new trailer closed with a late 2027 target and revealed Coco as the game’s newly announced Disney and Pixar world.
The trailer opens inside the Coco setting without announcing itself as Kingdom Hearts at all, then flips into the reveal. Footage moves between Santa Cecilia, the film’s Mexican town, and the neon-lit Land of the Dead, including an elaborate train sequence.
Both Miguel Rivera and Héctor show up in the trailer, and combat scenes suggest they join Sora as party members. Square Enix hasn’t put a label on their roles yet, so treat that as strongly implied rather than stamped and confirmed.
The gameplay looks much closer to classic Kingdom Hearts combat than the 2022 reveal did, with new and nastier-looking Heartless designs. Sora keeps his more realistic Kingdom Hearts IV redesign, which was originally tied to Quadratum, suggesting it’s simply his main look now.
Coco‘s themes fit the sequel’s setup a little too neatly. Kingdom Hearts IV picks up with Sora stranded in Quadratum, the realistic city described as an “afterworld” from the perspective of his home reality, after his heavy use of the Power of Waking in Kingdom Hearts III. A world built around travel between the living and the dead could tie directly into that, though nothing confirms Coco is the opening chapter, and Square Enix hasn’t said Sora is dead.
The trailer also doesn’t explain how Sora reaches Santa Cecilia, whether Donald and Goofy tag along, or whether the story adapts the film’s plot or runs parallel to it.
Alongside the showcase, store pages for Kingdom Hearts IV went live on Steam and the Epic Games Store, confirming a PC version. The Steam listing looked bare at launch, so assets are still rolling in. A full console list still needs official confirmation.
Separately, Disney and Square Enix announced an original Kingdom Hearts animated series for Disney+. It’s described as an anime telling a brand new story rather than retelling Sora’s games, possibly with a new protagonist, with series creator Tetsuya Nomura involved. Studio, cast, episode count, and release date are all unknown, and it isn’t part of Kingdom Hearts IV.
For context, Kingdom Hearts IV was announced in April 2022 at the franchise’s 20th anniversary event as the start of the Lost Master Arc. A late 2027 launch would land nearly nine years after Kingdom Hearts III, and windows like this can always slip.
