Kingdom Hearts will celebrate 25 years next year, as the first game in the RPG series, which began life as a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy, launched in 2002. Disney will mark the occasion a bit early with a “Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts” panel during D23 this year.
D23 is the official Disney fan club, and it celebrates with a convention called D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event every other year. This year is likely to feature our first official look at Avengers: Doomsday and other upcoming Disney movies, as well as confirmed retrospective panels on classics like Beauty and the Beast and more. While we’re a bit bummed there’s no word on appearances from in-development games like Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, the action game starring Captain America and Black Panther, or Motive Studio’s Iron Man, the schedule Disney released today confirms we’ll be seeing Kingdom Hearts during the event.
“Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts,” the schedule listing reads. “Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic.”
Admittedly, this reads as though the panel will focus on the entire series and its history, but there’s always a chance something from Kingdom Hearts IV will be shown. After all, the game recently surprised fans by appearing in a Nintendo Direct (of all places), confirming a simultaneous console and PC release, including Switch 2. Only time will tell, but we don’t have to wait long, as D23 takes place next month, from August 14 to August 16.
In the meantime, check out the very first Kingdom Hearts IV trailer, and then read about how the full game will be made in Unreal Engine 5. After that, read Game Informer’s review of Kingdom Hearts III.
What do you hope to learn from this Kingdom Hearts panel at D23? Let us know in the comments below!
