Kingdom Hearts IV: What We Actually Know Four Years Later
Kingdom Hearts has been running for 24 years. The series that started as "Disney meets Final Fantasy" has become one of the most aggressively complicated franchises in gaming history. So when Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts IV back in 2022, I was cautiously excited. Two trailers came out. And then... nothing. No release date. No window. No real communication beyond the occasional screenshot.
We're still waiting. Here's everything that's actually confirmed, what's just speculation, and what I honestly think about all of it.
The Setting Is Genuinely Interesting
Sora is in Quadratum. That's where we left him after Kingdom Hearts III and the Re:Mind DLC. Quadratum is based on real-life Shibuya, which is a wild swing for a series that's mostly been Disney worlds stitched together with anime melodrama.
What makes this actually interesting: Quadratum was originally presented as the setting of Verum Rex, an in-universe fake video game from KH3. So they planted the seed years in advance. Nomura commented on Quadratum's nature back in 2022 when the game was announced, and the implication is that it's not a typical Disney world. It's something else. Something more foundational to the lore.
Riku and Kairi found out where Sora was through the rhythm game Melody of Memory, which I think about two percent of KH fans actually played. So if you skipped that one, you missed some plot setup. Very on-brand for this series.
What It Looks Like
The photorealistic visual style is a huge departure. The trailers show Sora in what looks like a live-action Shibuya. Real storefronts, realistic lighting, actual urban density. It's jarring if you're used to the cartoon Disney aesthetic. Whether that's good or bad depends entirely on what you want from this series.
I don't hate it. It makes Quadratum feel genuinely foreign, which is the point. Sora is out of his element. The visual style reinforces that. Whether it holds up when you're also looking at, say, Mickey Mouse in the same frame is a different question.
Mickey Mouse Is Playable (Maybe)
A screenshot suggests Mickey is playable in at least some sequences. He appears to be in Scala ad Caelum in other released screenshots. If you've played the previous games, you know Mickey showing up usually means things are getting serious.
The Star Wars speculation is also worth mentioning. One shot in the original trailer has fans convinced it depicts a Star Wars world. That's speculation, not confirmation. But Disney owns Star Wars and the series has used Marvel and Pixar worlds before, so it's not impossible. I'd file it under "plausible enough to be excited about, not confirmed enough to count on."
The Characters Coming Back
Confirmed appearances include Luxord, Strelitzia, Valdi, and Sigurd. The Master of Masters and Luxu are both confirmed. Xehanort is returning, but in his younger form rather than the old man version we defeated in KH3. That's a specific choice that tells you something about where the story is going.
Hades is also apparently back. His voice actor James Woods implied he's done recording work for the game. Hades has been in every mainline Kingdom Hearts game, so his inclusion isn't surprising. His absence would be.
The Final Fantasy characters situation is still unclear. They were completely absent from KH3 until the Re:Mind DLC, which was a notable omission for longtime fans. No word yet on whether they're back for real this time.
The Context Nobody Talks About
Missing-Link, a mobile game set in the same universe, was canceled before Kingdom Hearts IV releases. That's not nothing. Mobile games in this franchise have historically been load-bearing lore delivery systems. Union Cross, for example, contained plot threads that connected directly to the main series. If Missing-Link got canceled, some of that content probably got folded into IV, or it just got cut. Either way, the lore landscape shifted.
The Honest Assessment
It's been announced since 2022 with no release date and no window. That's a long time to be in the dark. The platforms are confirmed: Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. So at least you won't need to choose hardware. But the lack of any timeline after four years of waiting is frustrating.
What I actually think: the setting change is smart. Getting out of Disney theme park world-hopping and putting Sora somewhere genuinely strange has potential. The photorealistic style is a gamble. The lore setup with Master of Masters, younger Xehanort, and Quadratum suggests Nomura has an actual destination in mind for once.
Whether it's good depends on execution we haven't seen yet. I'll believe it when there's a release date.
Source: Kotaku