Disney Announces Big Plans for a Beloved RPG as Its Long-Awaited Sequel Looms

3 hours ago 3

Published Jul 13, 2026, 5:08 PM EDT

Scott Baird is a Contributor at DualShockers with over a decade of experience writing about video games, board games, and tabletop RPGs. He has been writing professionally since 2013 and covering games since 2018, with work spanning news, reviews, lists, guides, interviews, and event coverage.

Before joining DualShockers, Scott contributed to publications including The Escapist, Dexerto, TheGamer, CBR, and Gamepur. He has also worked as a full-time Pokémon writer at Dexerto and a features writer at TheGamer. Scott holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Film & TV Production.

The long wait for more news about one of Disney's most beloved video game franchises is almost here, as a deep dive into the history of Kingdom Hearts has been announced for D23 in August 2026.

Considering the huge gap between mainline Kingdom Hearts games, no one was expecting the fourth entry anywhere near Kingdom Hearts 3, which launched in 2019. This would turn out to be sort of true, as Kingdom Hearts 4 was officially announced in 2022, but what followed was several years of silence, at least until 2026, when it was confirmed that it's launching on the Nintendo Switch 2, though it still lacks a release window.

It seems that fans might finally get their release date for Kingdom Hearts 4, as Disney has officially announced that D23 will hold a dedicated Kingdom Hearts Deep Dive panel to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. The Kingdom Hearts panel is set to occur on the Backlot Stage on August 15, 2026.

Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Deep Dive Is Coming To D23

While a deep dive into the history of Kingdom Hearts might be fun for newcomers, the main reason fans are tuning in is to find out when Kingdom Hearts 4 is releasing. Even a 2027 release window will make everyone excited, considering the utter lack of information about the game so far.

The most likely release window for Kingdom Hearts 4 is the second half of 2027, possibly the holiday season. This is because Square Enix, the game's developer, already has two high-profile releases at the start of 2027: Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion in January, and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation in the Spring. 2027 is a stacked year for the company, so it makes sense to space the releases out.

There's also a chance other Kingdom Hearts projects could be revealed. It's known that Disney once worked on a Kingdom Hearts animated series that was shelved, so it's possible another show could be on the way, especially as Disney+ needs more content. It's also possible that the canceled mobile game, Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, could be revived in some form, especially as it has ties to Kingdom Hearts 4.

Whatever the case, it's an exciting time to be a Kingdom Hearts fan, as Square Enix announced the game way too early, though its hand may have been forced by the Nvidia GeForce Now leak revealing its existence early. Fans have been stuck with brief trailer snippets for years now, and they'll take any crumb of new knowledge.

Hopefully, the panel isn't just a deep dive into the franchise, with some more merchandise sales thrown in at the end, as that would have fans in an uproar, even though that's all that has been advertised. Disney doesn't need anything fancy: just announce a Kingdom Hearts 4 release window to sate the endless thirst of Sora lovers worldwide.