Kingdom Hearts IV is planned for late 2027. The extended D23 2026 trailer confirms a Coco world and playable sections for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.
Square Enix says players can control Donald and Goofy during action scenes, while Mickey has an investigation section tied to the search for Sora. Sora wakes in Quadratum, a city that resembles modern Tokyo, as Donald and Goofy enter the Underworld looking for clues.
Kingdom Hearts IV Quick Facts
- Release window: Late 2027; no exact date has been announced.
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
- New Disney/Pixar world: Coco’s Land of the Dead.
- Playable characters shown: Sora, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.
- Story setup: Sora tries to return from Quadratum while his friends search for him.
The Extended Trailer Adds Playable Mickey, Donald, and Goofy
The August 20 long version adds more than extra shots. Donald and Goofy have controllable action scenes, while Mickey searches for information about Sora’s location. D23 separately confirms that Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are playable in these sequences.
Square Enix has not said how long these sections last or whether players can switch characters freely. The trailer confirms specific playable scenes, not a permanent party-switching system.
Coco Looks Like a World, Not a Cameo
The trailer takes Sora into the Land of the Dead, where the city glows under marigold petals and rows of warm lights. His face carries Día de Muertos markings, Miguel performs during a fight, and Héctor appears beside him as Heartless Shadows spill into the street.
The command menu and party portraits remain on screen during the Coco sequence. It is a small but useful detail: this is not a cinematic guest appearance built around one familiar song. Sora is fighting inside Coco’s world, with its characters beside him and its design carried into the systems players will actually use.
Sora’s new Keyblade combines guitars, sugar skulls, bones, and marigolds. The trailer does not name the weapon or explain its abilities, but its design connects Sora’s equipment directly to the Coco world.
Coco also fits themes already central to Kingdom Hearts, including memory, separation, and finding lost friends. The trailer does not say whether the chapter retells the film or uses a new story, so Miguel’s role beyond the shown battles remains unconfirmed.
Late 2027 Gives the Long Wait a Shape
Kingdom Hearts IV is now available to wishlist for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox on PC. The window is still broad, and release windows are plans rather than contracts. Even so, “late 2027” is far more useful than another promise that development is moving forward.
A June Nintendo Direct had already put Kingdom Hearts IV in the Switch 2 lineup. D23 supplied the part players were still missing: when Square Enix expects all of those versions to arrive.
Coco takes most of the attention, but the long trailer also returns to Quadratum, shows Sora facing a giant Heartless, and places Donald and Goofy in the Underworld while Mickey investigates Sora’s disappearance. Square Enix has not explained how those paths connect, but the premise is clearer: Sora is trying to leave Quadratum as his friends search for a way to find him.
Kingdom Hearts Is Also Becoming an Animated Series
Disney is also developing a Kingdom Hearts animated series for Disney+ and Disney Channel with Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix’s creative team.
The show is a new story that expands the universe rather than a retelling of the first game. Disney has not announced the animation studio, cast, episode count, release date, or whether the story connects directly to Kingdom Hearts IV.
Nomura and Square Enix are involved, but the announcement does not place the series in the game timeline. Until Disney explains that connection, viewers should treat it as a separate project rather than required setup for Kingdom Hearts IV.
D23 did not give Kingdom Hearts IV an exact release date, and the animated series still has no date. The confirmed picture is now clear: the game targets late 2027, Coco is a playable world, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy have playable sections, and the television project tells a separate original story.
