Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is an action role-playing franchise created by Tetsuya Nomura at Square Enix in collaboration with Disney, combining Square Enix’s original characters with Disney’s animated worlds in a connected mythology built around the concepts of darkness, light, and the heart. The first game released March 28, 2002, for PlayStation 2 and the series has shipped over 39 million copies worldwide as of June 2026. Kingdom Hearts IV was announced at the franchise’s twentieth anniversary event in April 2022 and received a new teaser trailer at Nintendo Direct on June 9, 2026, with no release date confirmed.

The Origins: A Hallway Conversation

Kingdom Hearts originated from a conversation in a shared building between Shinji Hashimoto, a producer at Square, and a Disney executive about the possibility of a collaboration using Disney characters. Tetsuya Nomura, a character designer whose work on Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X had established him as one of Square’s most recognizable visual voices, was given the project and developed an original protagonist named Sora alongside the Disney cast. The decision to include characters from Disney films within a coherent original narrative rather than adapting a specific Disney property was the creative breakthrough that made the project viable. The first Kingdom Hearts released March 28, 2002, in Japan and September 17, 2002, in North America for PlayStation 2, following Sora, Riku, and Kairi, three friends from the Destiny Islands who are separated when their world is consumed by creatures called Heartless, and Sora’s subsequent journey through Disney worlds with Donald Duck and Goofy to find his friends and stop the spread of darkness. Haley Joel Osment voiced Sora in English, David Gallagher voiced Riku, and Hayden Panettiere voiced Kairi.

Kingdom Hearts II and the Expansion of the Mythology

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories in 2004 for Game Boy Advance bridged the first game and its sequel through a story set in Castle Oblivion, where Sora’s memories were manipulated by a secret organization called Organization XIII. Kingdom Hearts II released December 22, 2005, in Japan and March 28, 2006, in North America for PlayStation 2, continuing Sora’s story against Organization XIII and introducing the Nobodies, beings created from the shells of people whose hearts were consumed by darkness. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days in 2009 for Nintendo DS followed Roxas, Sora’s Nobody, across his time with Organization XIII before the events of the second game. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep in 2010 for PlayStation Portable was a prequel set years before the original game following three new Keyblade wielders, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, whose tragedy established much of the franchise’s mythology.

Kingdom Hearts III and the Seeker of Darkness Saga

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in 2012 for Nintendo 3DS prepared Sora for the Mark of Mastery exam and introduced a new threat in Xehanort’s plan. Kingdom Hearts III released January 25, 2019, in Japan and January 29, 2019, internationally for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, concluding the Dark Seeker Saga that had spanned all entries from the original through 3D. The game followed Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and their allies against Master Xehanort’s plan to forge the X-blade and summon Kingdom Hearts itself. Kingdom Hearts III’s release after a six-year gap since the previous console entry generated significant fan enthusiasm. Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory in 2020 was a rhythm game spinoff. Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, a mobile title announced at the twentieth anniversary event in 2022, was cancelled by Square Enix in May 2025.

The Collections and Accessibility

Square Enix has worked to make the franchise’s complex back catalog accessible through compilation releases. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX in 2013 collected the original game, Chain of Memories, and 358/2 Days in film format. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX in 2014 added Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, and Re:coded in film format. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue in 2017 added Dream Drop Distance and a short original entry called 0.2 Birth by Sleep, along with a Kingdom Hearts ? retrospective film. All three collections were combined for PlayStation 4 as The Story So Far in 2018. Cloud-based versions of the collections launched for Nintendo Switch. On June 9, 2026, Square Enix announced new Kingdom Hearts collection releases during a Nintendo Direct presentation.

Kingdom Hearts IV

Kingdom Hearts IV was announced at the franchise’s twentieth anniversary event in Tokyo on April 10, 2022. The game follows Sora in Quadratum, a photorealistic world resembling contemporary Tokyo that is distinct from the Disney-world structure of previous entries, alongside a new character named Strelitzia. The announcement trailer showed Sora with a redesigned realistic visual style appropriate to Quadratum’s environment while suggesting his classic design would appear in other contexts. Development updates have been sparse, with Tetsuya Nomura describing the game as progressing smoothly in late 2024. On June 9, 2026, new teaser footage appeared at Nintendo Direct, the game’s first new public footage in several years. No release date, platforms, or story details beyond the initial reveal have been confirmed.