Kingdom Hearts IV is the next mainline entry in Square Enix’s action RPG series and the opening chapter of a new “Lost Master” arc. It picks up after Kingdom Hearts III and Melody of Memory: Sora is stranded in Quadratum, a lifelike city inspired by modern Tokyo, while Donald and Goofy try to bring him home. The game was formally unveiled in April 2022 and is being built in Unreal Engine 5.

Where the story begins

Kingdom Hearts IV starts a fresh saga set largely in Quadratum, an expansive, realistic metropolis that includes fictionalized takes on neighborhoods like Shibuya and Minami-Aoyama. Early on, Sora’s apartment in Minami-Aoyama serves as your home base before you branch out to other worlds. Disney-themed worlds will return, but Quadratum is positioned as the hub you come back to between destinations. Strelitzia, a Keyblade wielder introduced in earlier mobile titles, appears here and is positioned to matter in this new arc.

How it plays

Combat remains action-forward with a few important callbacks and additions:

  • Reaction Commands return in the vein of Kingdom Hearts II.
  • Parkour traversal and Keyblade transformations are back.
  • The Keyblade gains a grappling-hook form for long-distance movement.
  • A new “scrap and build” mechanic is being introduced.

Nomura has also said KH4 will show more of Sora’s day-to-day routine, reflecting its grounded setting. Mickey Mouse is reportedly playable in at least some capacity.

Art direction: two realities, two looks

Quadratum leans into realism, and Sora’s model follows suit with finer detail and materials that sit naturally in modern city environments. In contrast, characters from Sora’s original reality like Donald and Goofy retain the shader and stylization introduced in KH3. The team has said Sora’s look would revert if and when he returns to his original world, underlining the “fictional to each other” theme that defines this arc.

Who’s making it

The game is directed by Tetsuya Nomura with Tai Yasue as co-director. The scenario team includes Nomura, Masaru Oka, and Akiko Ishibashi. Series composer Yoko Shimomura returns for the score. The title is being developed by Square Enix’s Osaka-based Kingdom Hearts team, with production moving to Unreal Engine 5 for the final game.

Status update: where development stands

Work on the next mainline entry was underway by early 2020, with a formal reveal in 2022. The initial trailer was produced in Unreal Engine 4; full production targets Unreal Engine 5. In May 2025, Square Enix canceled the mobile project Missing-Link, which had been planned to connect to KH4, and shared new KH4 screenshots shortly thereafter. The official Kingdom Hearts account also posted a brief message to fans reaffirming the team is “working hard” on KH4. In September 2025, Nomura said development is progressing on schedule.

As of now, Square Enix hasn’t announced platforms or a release date.

What’s new (and what isn’t) compared to KH3

  • Hub-first structure: Quadratum acts as a central base between off-world excursions, which shifts the series away from a pure world-to-world cadence.
  • Traversal tools: the Keyblade’s grappling form and expanded parkour suggest more vertical space and more options to engage with it.
  • Combat inputs: the return of Reaction Commands adds a flavor of KH2 timing and spectacle to KH3’s broader action template.
  • Presentation: a more realistic rendering pipeline and materials model in Quadratum, with stylization maintained for legacy characters to preserve identity.

The open questions

Plenty remains undecided publicly, and Square Enix is keeping the marketing tight until the “right time.” The big unknowns:

  • Platforms: no announcements yet.
  • Release timing: no public window—Nomura’s “on schedule” update is as far as it goes.
  • How the “scrap and build” system shapes play moment-to-moment: expect it to sit alongside transformations and Reaction Commands rather than replace them.
  • Scope and count of Disney worlds: hardware advances factor into how many make the cut, but Square Enix hasn’t enumerated them.

Why this structure makes sense

After wrapping the years-long Dark Seeker arc in KH3 and Re Mind, KH4 resets the board with a dual-reality premise. That gives the team room to streamline the cast early, reintroduce core ideas for returning players and newcomers, and let Quadratum do double duty: tone-setter and structural anchor. A hub-and-spoke design can also help production—large, reusable city spaces with bespoke detours into Disney worlds—while keeping loadouts, menus, and narrative beats consistent.

Patterns to watch before release

  • Marketing windows: recent Square Enix tentpoles have tended to kick off full campaigns about 8–12 months ahead of launch. A meaningful re-reveal would likely signal the same runway here.
  • Audio and localization progress: public hints from voice talent and localized UI often correlate with being inside a year of release for the series.
  • Engine stabilization: with production now on Unreal Engine 5, look for footage that showcases consistent lighting and materials across Quadratum and the more stylized worlds.

Kingdom Hearts IV is positioned as a familiar brawler with sharper tools and a more grounded stage to play on. The team has shown just enough to sketch the shape of that experience—Quadratum as a home, classic mechanics with modern traversal, and a theme about realities reflecting each other—while holding back the specifics that define a final build. Until Square Enix opens the marketing spigot, the practical takeaway remains the same: no platforms, no date, but development is active and on schedule, and the series’ key creative leads are in place.