Kingdom Hearts Series

Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Event Set for D23 2026

Posted by Meilin Lee : Monday at 7:22 PM ( 2 , 265 )

It was announced today that this year's D23 Expo will feature a one hour event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series, titled 'DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS', scheduled for August 15th from 4:30-5:30 pm PST:

The event will include some of the series' voice actors and creative minds, and may potentially provide us our next look into 'Kingdom Hearts IV'! This event is significant in that it is the first D23 event dedicated entirely to Kingdom Hearts.

Source: D23 Official Website

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Kingdom Hearts Series

Kingdom Hearts Collection [I ~ III] Announced + New KH4 Trailer at Nintendo Direct

Posted by Meilin Lee : Jun 9, 2026 at 4:31 PM ( 1 , 621 )

Today's Nintendo Direct stream caught many Kingdom Hearts fans by surprise, as it included two major announcements after a long drought of news.

First off, a new collection containing 'Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX', 'Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue', and 'Kingdom Hearts III' (including the ReMind DLC) will be releasing on October 8 this year for the Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and will be titled 'Kingdom Hearts Collection [I ~ III]'. Check out the boxart and trailer for this collection below:

Following the collection's announcement, fans got an even bigger surprise in the form of a new trailer for 'Kingdom Hearts IV', the first one since the initial one back in 2022! The trailer shows a bit more of gameplay in Quadratum, and includes some familiar faces confirmed to return in the game. The game is also confirmed for a multiplatform release, available for the Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (through Steam, Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store) upon launch. Check out the new trailer below:

In addition to the trailer, a new overview of the game was released by Square-Enix, which you can read below:

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Tetsuya Nomura Shares Message to Commemorate 24th Anniversary of Kingdom Hearts

Posted by Meilin Lee : Mar 29, 2026 at 12:34 PM ( 0 , 939 )

After an extended drought of news related to the 'Kingdom Hearts' series, Tetsuya Nomura has finally provided an update to fans to commemorate the recent 24th anniversary of the series, providing a new illustration of Young Xehanort with an umbrella (similar to the one he drew back during the release of Dark Road), along with a short message indicating that there is ongoing work for the series' 25th anniversary next year:

Whether that may finally hint towards a release window for 'Kingdom Hearts IV' or something else entirely remains to be seen, but hopefully this is a positive sign of finally getting some updates on the series this year.

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Kingdom Hearts Series

Tetsuya Nomura Comments on 15th Anniversary of 'Birth by Sleep'

Posted by Meilin Lee : Jan 9, 2025 at 11:23 AM ( 0 , 8,206 )

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of 'Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep', series director, Tetsuya Nomura, provided some insight one of the important elements in the game (and the series as whole), and that is the infamous crossroads where important events occurred (and hint of potentially what's to come). You can check out Nomura's comments below:

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Young Jump Interview with Tetsuya Nomura

Posted by Meilin Lee : Sep 18, 2024 at 3:02 PM ( 0 , 3,141 )

In a recent interview with Young Jump magazine, Kingdom Hearts series director, Tetsuya Nomura, got a chance to talk a bit about the series, discussing things such as the deeper meaning behind the logo change for KH4, how much information is shared with his staff regarding the plot and characters, and when he sees himself retiring (and how the future of Kingdom Hearts factors into that). Please check out the translated interview below (courtesy of KH13):

"Many of your works have complex settings, but how do you manage to bring them all together for when you have to record the voice lines?"

Nomura: Honestly, I don't think they understand everything either on the day of recording. When the staff other than myself explain the settings and characters to the voice actors during recording, they sometimes ask me to confirm if it’s okay to do it like that, and there are times when I have to say “no, it's not okay” (laughs).

But there's no way around it, because I'm the only one who understands the parts of the characters that haven't been drawn, so I'm the only one who can think about the complex story in all the different directions it could go. On the other hand, I also actively encourage the staff to question and point things out to me.

"Is there something like a setting reference book?"

Nomura: I have some things that I personally write down to remember. Including periods that are not depicted, I write down the footsteps of important people and future developments.

"So you don't share that information?"

Nomura: Of course not, I keep that to myself. (laughs). However, I do make sure that the staff know what they need to know by writing setting explanations all at once in the middle of the scenario.

"In the Kingdom Hearts series, there are many foreshadowing elements that span the series, so how do you keep track of those?"

Nomura: As I’ve mentioned previously, I write a lot in my notes, but I also make sure the staff remember, and I like watching videos, so I watch playthrough videos and reviews on YouTube. Basically, rather than looking back at my notes, I make sure the staff remembers what happened in past titles.

"This year, Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is also scheduled for release on mobile devices. Do you have any concerns that by developing important stories for apps and portable game consoles, you will end up with more players who can't keep up with the story?"

Nomura: Honestly, I do. (laughs) That's why we're developing a story that takes place in a time frame that's much earlier than the Kingdom Hearts timeline on consoles. However, as people say, “The newly announced Kingdom Hearts IV is really more like Kingdom Hearts XIII”, as there are natural connections, even with non-numbered titles, and I think that will allow people to enjoy the series even more deeply.

However, this time, both Kingdom Hearts Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV have been created with a stronger focus on being new titles rather than sequels. For example, as a new experiment, we have had staff who have not been involved in the Kingdom Hearts series before participate in writing the scenario. Of course, I will be editing it in the end, but I don't think it will be positioned as a work that needs to be done in the sense that the writer who has never been involved in the 'Kingdom Hearts' series is creating a new base.

After all, Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link is better described as a blank history, so it is also based on the premise that there are things missing. If you know about it, you can enjoy it more deeply.

"Just as it is difficult to catch up with a long-running manga series from the very first title, the Kingdom Hearts series has so many titles that it seems to have the same problem. What are your thoughts in regards to new fans that might try playing these series?"

Nomura: That’s what I'd like to know (laughs). As I mentioned earlier, I'm thinking of Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV as a kind of reset. I felt like I'd finished with Kingdom Hearts III and wanted to start again, so I've brought in new writers and even changed the logo to make it easier for new people to get involved.

"Ah, so that's what the change of logo was about."

Nomura: If you remember how the ending of Kingdom Hearts III goes, you'll understand that Sora ends up like that because he's “resetting” the story in a way, so Kingdom Hearts IV should be easier to get into than before. I think that if you like the series, you'll feel like 'this is it', but I'm also hoping that as many new players as possible will play it.

"At the beginning of Kingdom Hearts, there is a monologue that goes: "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like...is any of this real, or not?" What does that mean?"

Nomura: The name “Quadratum” didn't exist at that time, but the idea was there. It was a long preparation for the day when I would reach this point (laughs).

"So it was actually a foreshadowing that took 20 years!? Then, do you see a future where the Kingdom Hearts series will be completed?"

Nomura: If this isn't a dream, then I only have a few years left until I retire, and it's looking like: will I retire or will I finish the series first? (laughs) However, I'm making Kingdom Hearts IV with the intention of it being a story that leads to the conclusion.
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