Square Enix announces Kingdom Hearts IV, currently in early development

Square Enix announces Kingdom Hearts IV, currently in early development

Today, Square Enix held a special 20th anniversary event for the immensely popular Kingdom Hearts franchise, and as a surprise announcement, a fourth installment was officially confirmed. Jump to the four-minute mark in the video above to catch the reveal, which even features an appearance by Disney's series staple companions Donald and Goofy.

"Sora makes a triumphant return with an updated look at the beginning of an epic new storyline titled the "Lost Master Arc", the developer says in a press release. "Beginning with Sora facing off in a boss battle against a giant enemy, players are introduced to the Quadratum, a large, expansive city set in a gorgeous, realistic world unlike anything ever seen before in the Kingdom Hearts series. Fans will be excited to see the return of Sora’s well-known companions, in addition to the first appearance of Strelitzia, a mysterious new character who appears before Sora in this strange new setting."

It hasn't been long since Kingdom Hearts III originally landed on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2018, with a PC version landing in 2021 and a cloud-only Switch launch coming earlier this year.

While a release date was not announced today, Kingdom Hearts IV is said to be in "early development", so don't expect a launch anytime soon. Comparatively, there was a 14-year gap between Kingdom Hearts II and III, though many spin-offs did populate the space during that time.

In addition to missing a release date, Square Enix also kept Kingdom Hearts IV's platforms a secret, at least for now. During the same event, Square Enix also announced Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link, a mobile game that's slated to hit the closed beta stage later this year.