Kingdom Hearts 4 news could drop at D23 in August

Disney's D23 expo runs August 14–16, and a confirmed hour-long panel called Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts has fans convinced Kingdom Hearts 4 news is coming. The panel is officially billed as a 25th-anniversary celebration, but given that Square Enix just broke years of silence with a new trailer last month, the timing feels too good to ignore.

The panel is scheduled for August 15 and carries the description: "Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts. Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic." Disney hasn't confirmed Kingdom Hearts 4 will be shown, but the phrase "creative minds" has fans speculating whether Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura — director of every mainline entry in the series and the man behind its iconic character designs — will appear. A new trailer, a release window, or even just a 2027 confirmation would all count as wins at this point.

The June Nintendo Direct trailer was the first Kingdom Hearts 4 footage in four years, showing Sora fighting Heartless in a modern Japan-style setting alongside glimpses of Donald, Goofy, hooded figures, and characters pulled from mobile spin-offs like Kingdom Hearts Union X. It also confirmed a Switch 2 release. D23 itself is a biannual event — the last one was in 2024 — and has grown into a major announcement stage for Disney across film, TV, and games. Disney Dreamlight Valley also has its own panel confirmed, and Star Wars games including Zero Company and Galactic Racer are expected to feature given their imminent release dates.

Whether Square Enix actually shows up with something substantial remains the open question — the company has a history of letting anniversary moments pass quietly. But with marketing clearly ramping up after that Nintendo Direct appearance, D23 on August 15 is the next logical moment to watch.