Square Enix has revealed even more details about Kingdom Hearts 4, following its debut of the new world coco at the recent D23 festivities. Broadly speaking, fans should expect Kingdom Hearts 4 to be roughly twice the length of Kingdom Hearts 3, although whether or not that adds to the overarching playtime remains to be seen. KH3 takes 30-40 or so hours to beat, not to mention the Re:Mind DLC, so that could mean KH4 is close to 80 hours (this interpretation of length is unlikely, though).
Kingdom Hearts 4 co-directors Tetsuya Nomura and Tai Yasue revealed a lot about the game during a recent interview with Famitsu (translated by known Square Enix content creator Audrey on Twitter). Perhaps one of the most interesting details, at least in how it relates to the story, is that Sora will encounter a group of Keyblade wielders known as Dandelion who work for the government of Quadratum. It remains to be seen how this fictional government fully factors into Kingdom Hearts 4‘s story, but it does seem like the upcoming game wil be heavy on story.
KH4’s Script is Long and Nomura Had to Be Held Back
First and foremost, Nomura confirmed that the script for Kingdom Hearts 4 is about twice the length of Kingdom Hearts 3, so depending on how that script breaks down, fans may receive a much longer game than KH3. In all likelihood, though, some of this may result in deeper cutscenes and more story presence in gameplay, not necessarily resulting in a long game. That said, Nomura “kept wanting to add in more content,” but the development team had gone over its limit. Kingdom Hearts 4 and its worlds and everything fans expect should have plenty to offer then.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
Square Enix previously promised that Kingdom Hearts 4 would release in 2027 with no delays, which is a surprising claim for August 2026, but apparently that’s because this is the “first time in Kingdom Hearts series history” that development is proceeding well. Perhaps part of this, although not a dominant part, is that there’s a lore master coordinating with Disney, Square Enix, and the Kingdom Hearts 4 development team who, among other things, makes sure the lore is accurate to the χ series.
It should come as no surprise to fans that the χ series of Kingdom Hearts games are somewhat difficult to get hands on right now, but there will be characters from that series in KH4. Sigurd and Vali are just two examples, but Square Enix does not believe fans need to have play the χ series games. Kingdom Hearts 4 will properly introduce these characters, according to the co-directors, and that could possibly be another reason for the extended script—the new to introduce and “the old” to retread.
As a closing thought in the interview, the co-directors suggested that it might be some time before fans get even more Kingdom Hearts 4 world reveals or news. The recent Nintendo Direct and D23 gave fans a lot, but the team does not want to rush through everything, with it being suggested that nothing new will be announced at the Tokyo Game Show. While that may disappoint some fans, many will no doubt be happier if KH4 hit its 2027 release window, especially with such a strong promise. And so it makes perfect sense for the developers to focus on finishing the game.
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
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Kingdom Hearts