Disney’s D23 Expo has kicked off in Anaheim, and while the Kingdom Hearts anniversary panel is slated for later today, Square Enix’s JRPG franchise made a surprise appearance at the opening Disney Entertainment Showcase panel. Disney revealed that on top of receiving a newly announced anime coming to Disney Plus, Kingdom Hearts IV’s first world will be based on Pixar’s 2017 film Coco. Better yet, the game is slated to release in late 2027.

Kingdom Hearts IV was first announced all the way back in 2022 during a 20th anniversary event. The game is being co-directed by series creator Tetsuya Nomura and Kingdom Hearts III director Tai Yasu. While there had been almost complete silence between the April 2022 trailer and the June 2026 Nintendo Direct trailer, it appears that the game is finally taking form with a steady cadence of information over the last few months.

Previous Kingdom Hearts IV trailers have depicted Sora in Quadratum, a realm inspired by real-world Shibuya, previously teased in Kingdom Hearts III and its Re:Mind DLC. While this led to some speculation that Disney worlds would be deemphasized this time, today’s trailer put those rumors to rest with the reveal of a world based on Pixar’s 2017 film Coco.

Much like with Kingdom Hearts III’s Pixar worlds, Kingdom Hearts IV’s art direction is looking like it will recreate the look of the films with stunning authenticity. The trailer also gives some teases as to where the story will lead, with Donald and Goofy separated from Sora even during the events of the Coco world.

Best of all – the trailer ends with the reveal that Kingdom Hearts IV will be releasing in “Late 2027”. This is a welcome surprise given that Tetsuya Nomura’s other massive project, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, will also be releasing in the early half of next year, signalling a massive year for Square Enix.

Also announced during D23’s opening panel, Kingdom Hearts will be receiving an anime series for Disney Plus and Disney Channel in the near future. The series will feature an entirely original storyline penned by Tetsuya Nomura and, knowing this series, will likely be an essential viewing for future main series continuity.

Kingdom Hearts IV will release for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S in late 2027.

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