Square Enix on Saturday (Aug. 15) dropped a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer that expands on the teaser released on Friday and reveals that Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy will now be playable.
The reveal came during the "Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts" panel in Anaheim, California, at this year’s D23 Expo, where director Tetsuya Nomura announced a second, longer trailer with exciting new reveals.
Among the surprises, Mickey Mouse (referred to as King Mickey in the games), is seen in a playable segment that appears to take place inside a book within the world of Scala ad Caelum. Elsewhere in the trailer, Donald and Goofy were shown to be playable in a battle against the series’ Heartless monsters.
Take a look at the footage from the game below.
The trailer isn’t just about new gameplay elements. The extended glimpse reveals a bit more of the world of Coco that the series protagonist, Sora, will be able to visit, along with footage from the new world of Quadratum where he was whisked away at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3.
In Quadratum, Sora faints after seeing ghostly versions of Donald and Goofy and, as a final shock for fans, he gets a glimpse of his best friend Riku, who has somehow found his own way to Quadratum.
The trailer ends with Kairi’s voice saying “Sora, wake up,” over the final frames.
Hype for the game has never been stronger. It’s good news that the release window of late 2027 appears to be final.
"I can confidently say and promise that it will launch in 2027. It's not an 80 percent or 90 percent thing; it's a 100 percent thing," Nomura said. "Online, some people were saying the release date might get pushed back. I want to set the record straight: That is not happening."
Kingdom Hearts 4 will launch in late 2027 simultaneously on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Xbox, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Nomura also confirmed he is deeply involved in a Kingdom Hearts animated series heading to Disney Channel and Disney+.
