Kingdom Hearts 4 is still planned for a late 2027 release, and the people building it want fans to stop worrying about another slip. During Disney’s D23 2026 event in Anaheim, series creator Tetsuya Nomura and co-director Tai Yasue addressed the online chatter about a possible delay head on and shut it down.
Quick answer: Kingdom Hearts 4 is targeting a late 2027 launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. The developers have publicly stated the game will not be pushed to 2028. No exact day has been announced yet.
What the developers actually said
Nomura brought up the delay rumors himself. He noted that some people online were saying the release date might still get pushed back and then made his position clear.
I want to set the record straight: That is not happening. I do hope that people do look forward to the game coming in 2027. A lot of the marketing for the game has only just started, and so I do hope that people also look forward to hearing more news as well.
Yasue backed him up with the line fans latched onto. He said the schedule is holding and that development is going smoothly.
I can confidently say and promise that it will launch in 2027. Schedule-wise, the development is very smooth. It’s not like an 80%, 90% – it’s a 100% thing. We’ll be there in 2027 for sure.
Nomura also said the team was heading straight back to Tokyo after the event to keep working, and described progress as moving faster than expected. There is no single confirmed release date beyond the “late 2027” window, so treat anything more specific as unconfirmed for now.
Why late 2027 matters for a physical release
The delay concern was not just about waiting longer. It tied directly into whether Kingdom Hearts 4 gets a disc at all. Sony announced it will stop supporting physical releases for new PlayStation games that launch after January 2028.
If Kingdom Hearts 4 slipped into 2028, it risked becoming the first mainline entry without a physical PS5 version. A late 2027 launch keeps it comfortably ahead of that cutoff, so a boxed release on PlayStation 5 remains possible. Square Enix has not confirmed pricing, editions, or a firm on-sale date.
Platforms and confirmed details
| Detail | Confirmed status |
|---|---|
| Release window | Late 2027 |
| Exact date | Not announced |
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Publisher / developer | Square Enix |
| Announced | 2022 |
What D23 showed of the game
The event came with an extended gameplay trailer that gave the clearest look at Kingdom Hearts 4 since its reveal. The headline addition is a new world based on Pixar’s 2017 film Coco, where Sora meets Miguel during the Día de los Muertos and takes on the Heartless with a themed outfit and a new Keyblade.
- Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were confirmed as playable for at least part of the game, following their separation from Sora.
- Riku’s updated design was shown, with David Gallagher reprising the role.
- Hades from Hercules appeared in the footage.
- A Kingdom Hearts anime series was announced for Disney+, telling an original story set in the game’s world, with no release date yet.
Why some fans stayed skeptical
The caution is understandable. Mainline Kingdom Hearts games have a history of long gaps, with 13 years separating Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3. It has now been roughly eight years since the last mainline release in 2019, which is why any hint of a further delay set off alarm.
For now, the developers have committed to late 2027 in plain terms, a disc release on PS5 is still viable at that timing, and the marketing push is only getting started. The remaining unknown is the specific date, and that is the one thing worth waiting on Square Enix to confirm.
