Square Enix has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 4 is officially on the way.
In the final video released as part of the series’ 20th-anniversary celebrations – dubbed a complication of all trailers revealed during today’s event – we unexpectedly catch sight of Sora and the statement: “The heart resides within the soul, which in turn is guided by fate to its rightful place”.
But let’s not talk about it when you can see it for yourself (jump to 4.09 to get straight into the Kingdom Hearts 4 action):
“Sora makes a triumphant return with an updated look at the beginning of an epic new storyline titled the ‘Lost Master Arc’,” Square Enix explains. “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.”
There’s not even a whiff of a release date just yet nor an indication of what platforms Kingdom Hearts 4 is heading to, but development does seem advanced enough to give us not just cinematics, but a glimpse at gameplay above the streets of a modern cityscape.
And right at the end, our good pals Donald Duck and Goofy make an appearance, too.
We also learned about Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, a mobile game that’s going into closed beta testing later this year. Square Enix says it will “allow players to embark on adventures from the realm of Scala ad Caelum into the real world”, and “engage in exhilarating battles against the Heartless and discover a new, original story”.
