| Kingdom Hearts IV | |
|---|---|
 Logo | |
| Developer | Square Enix Creative Business Unit I |
| Publisher | Square Enix |
| Directors |
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| Artist | Tetsuya Nomura |
| Writers |
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| Composer | Yoko Shimomura |
| Series | Kingdom Hearts |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Genre | Action role-playing |
| Mode | Single-player |
Kingdom Hearts IV[a] is an upcomingaction role-playing game bySquare Enix. It will be the fifteenth installment in theKingdom Hearts series, beginning the "Lost Master" story arc. Set after the events ofKingdom Hearts III andKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, returning protagonistSora has become trapped in the life-like world of Quadratum, while his companionsDonald Duck andGoofy try to find and rescue him.
Development on the next mainline entry afterKingdom Hearts III had begun by January 2020, withKingdom Hearts IV formally announced in April 2022.
Sora facesHeartless in the game. Parkour elements andKeyblade transformations return, with the Keyblade also able to transform into a grappling hook to traverse large distances.[1] The game will have reaction commands similar toKingdom Hearts II,[2][3] and introduces a new "scrap and build" mechanic.[2] More of Sora's "daily life" and his "day-to-day routines" are also explored.[3]Mickey Mouse will reportedly also be a playable character.[4]
| Kingdom Hearts chronology |
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Kingdom Hearts IV serves as the beginning of the "Lost Master" story arc. The game takes place in Quadratum, an expansive city set in a realistic world inspired byTokyo,[5] featuring a fictionalizedShibuya andMinami-Aoyama. Sora's apartment in Minami-Aoyama serves as the player's home base in the early part of the game.[6] Quadratum serves as ahub world, with players returning there after traveling to other worlds. Several worlds based onDisney properties will also appear. The advancement of hardware capabilities since the series began played a factor in determining the number of worlds created for the game.[3]
Sora, a teenager who uses a key-shaped weapon called the Keyblade to battle the forces of darkness, reprises his role from previous games as the main protagonist and playable character of the game.Donald Duck andGoofy, the royal magician and knight captain of Disney Castle respectively, also return after having served as Sora'sparty companions. The game also featuresStrelitzia,[5][7] a Keyblade wielder who previously appeared in the mobile gameKingdom Hearts Union χ.[8] Other main characters of the series, such as the protagonists of the gamesKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep andKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, will have minor roles inKingdom Hearts IV, with Nomura open to finding a "good balance" with regards to includingFinal Fantasy characters that have been a part of the series.[3] Mickey Mouse also returns from previous games.[4]
ThoughKingdom Hearts III was the end of the "Dark Seeker Saga" which revolved aroundXehanort, it had been decided where certain characters end up in order to potentially continue their stories in future games.[9] The ending ofKingdom Hearts III and itsdownloadable content (DLC)Re Mind saw Sora end up in the city of Quadratum and the appearance of the characterYozora, who was the main character of the in-universe video gameVerum Rex. Quadratum had designs elements that evoked Shibuya fromSquare Enix's franchiseThe World Ends with You as well asFinal Fantasy Versus XIII, which eventually was reworked to becomeFinal Fantasy XV, while Yozora's design was similar toNoctis Lucis Caelum, the main protagonist ofFinal Fantasy XV, and part of his appearance mimicked an early trailer forVersus XIII. Commentators believed series directorTetsuya Nomura, who was also the director ofVersus XIII before it was reworked, was planning to implement some of his ideas from that game in a futureKingdom Hearts title.[10][11] In March 2020, Nomura saidVersus XIII andVerum Rex were "completely different" but an "unexpected development" between the two was occurring,[12] and later confirmed the Shibuya in Quadratum was unrelated to that inThe World Ends with You.[13]
In January 2020, Nomura said there would need to be "more time" before the next main entry in the series. Additionally, he revealed that there were two new development teams, separate from those that worked on theRe Mind DLC and theUnion χ/Dark Road team, working onKingdom Hearts content.[14] In September 2020, Nomura stated that the development team was in the process of discussing the series' future plans between Square Enix and Disney, and that "nothing has been set in stone, but I do have some concepts percolating in my head".[15] He added that Yozora would "definitely... be involved" in the future of the series, in an unexpected and surprising way.[16]
In April 2022, Square Enix revealedKingdom Hearts IV was in development during the series' 20th anniversary celebration.[5] The game is being developed bySquare Enix Business Division 3, the same Osaka-based team that developedKingdom Hearts III, with Tai Yasue serving as co-director,[17] and Masaru Oka and Akiko Ishibashi joining Nomura to write the game.[18][19] The game's reveal trailer was created withUnreal Engine 4, with the final game planned to be made withUnreal Engine 5.[17] Wesley Leblanc ofGame Informer felt Nomura was able to realize his vision forVersus XIII with the game and the "Verum Rex side of the franchise", and called the inclusion of Donald and Goofy at the end of the trailer a way to reassure players that the Disney elements of the franchise would continue.[1] Nomura had also originally planned to create theVerum Rex game in its entirety, but noted the difficulty of creating two console games simultaneously.[17]Kingdom Hearts IV's theme was described by Nomura as the contrast between the inhabitants of Sora's original world believing the inhabitants of Quadratum are fictional and vice versa.[6] Several commentators believed the forest-like world included in the trailer was the moonEndor from theStar Wars franchise, noting the presence of an object resembling anAT-ST foot, suggesting a world based onStar Wars would be included in the game.[20]
In June 2022, Nomura revealed that the mobile gameKingdom Hearts Missing-Link would be connected toKingdom Hearts IV, explaining that there were "some figures that appear" inMissing-Link that were tied to the story ofIV.[3] However,Missing-Link was cancelled in May 2025.[21] Shortly after, the series' social media account shared a development update and some screenshots ofKingdom Hearts IV and said more information would be shared "when the time is right".[4] In September 2025, Nomura said development was "going according to schedule".[22]
Sora receives an updated look for the game, having a more realistic art style. Quadratum and thenon-playable characters also have a realistic design.[7][1] The design team was challenged to make the world as realistic as possible; previously in the series, the most "realistic" world was the one based on thePirates of the Caribbean films.[3] Conversely, characters in the original world of the series, such as Donald and Goofy, continue to use the shaders and designs introduced inKingdom Hearts III, with Nomura stating if Sora were to return to his world, his look would revert.[6]
Series composerYoko Shimomura returns to score the game.[23][better source needed]
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