Square Enix and Disney finally gave Kingdom Hearts fans a real new look at Kingdom Hearts IV, unveiling a showcase trailer during the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23 2026. The biggest reveal is a new world built around Pixar's Coco, sending Sora into the Land of the Dead, and the trailer also locks in a release window at last: late 2027.

Update (August 16, 2026): Square Enix has since released a longer cut of the Coco trailer, filling in several of the beats the D23 stage reveal only teased.

The Extended Cut Brings In Miguel and Hector

The full trailer opens on a quiet moment lifted straight from the film, with Hector fading away as Miguel watches. The dialogue spells out the "final death" idea directly: once nobody in the living world remembers you, you vanish for good. It's a heavy way to open a Kingdom Hearts trailer, but Hector shrugs it off almost immediately and drags Miguel back into the plot, reminding him he's still got a talent show to win.

That talent show is where things turn into a fight. Miguel's performance gets interrupted by Heartless, and Sora, already dressed for Día de Muertos with skull makeup of his own, jumps in to help clear them out. From there, Sora, Miguel and Hector pile onto a tram and ride into the Plaza de la Cruz together. Sora picks up a new Coco-themed Keyblade along the way, built around a guitar shape with bone detailing, marigold petals and a skull-shaped hilt, and the footage cuts to him grinding along rails and fighting Heartless with it, including a Reaction Command that pairs him up with Hector mid-battle.

Mickey and Goofy Keep Searching While Quadratum Comes Under Attack

Back on Sora's side of the story, King Mickey is shown digging through a library for anything that might help track him down. Goofy, meanwhile, is talking to Hades, asking if this is where people who vanish from the living world end up. Hades tells him flatly that Sora isn't there, which rules out the Underworld as wherever Sora's actually gone.

The trailer then cuts back to Quadratum, the realistic city setting Kingdom Hearts IV first teased before any of the Coco reveal. Sora briefly sees translucent, ghost-like versions of Donald and Goofy before collapsing, and the scene escalates fast: giant Heartless start tearing through the streets. The footage ends with Sora grabbing his Keyblade and calling out for Sigurd, a name that will be familiar to anyone who played Kingdom Hearts Union χ, alongside a brief, unexplained appearance from a hooded figure who isn't identified.

None of this is spelled out yet, but it lines up with the "final death" framing from the Coco half of the trailer. Sora is somewhere he shouldn't be, and everyone still in the living world is racing to figure out where that is before he's forgotten too.

Original D23 announcement coverage continues below.

Sora Heads Into the Land of the Dead

The Coco reveal is the centerpiece of the new trailer, giving fans their first proper look at how Pixar's acclaimed film fits into Kingdom Hearts IV. The footage is brief, but it shows Sora exploring the new world, with hints of a story tied to the Land of the Dead's characters and its mysteries. Mickey, Donald and Goofy also show up, keeping the usual trio close to Sora on this leg of the journey.

Coco becomes another major Disney and Pixar property folded into the Kingdom Hearts universe, continuing the series' long-running habit of pulling characters and worlds from across Disney's library into one story.

A Few Cryptic Story Hints

The trailer isn't only about showing off the new world. It also drops some early clues about where Kingdom Hearts IV's story is headed. Dialogue early on references someone who has been "forgotten" and mentions a "final death," and later scenes show characters searching for clues that could help save Sora.

Square Enix hasn't explained any of this yet, but the teases point to Kingdom Hearts IV building further on the series' increasingly tangled mythology around Sora and the wider Kingdom Hearts universe.

Release Window and Platforms

After years of waiting, fans finally have a clearer idea of when they'll get to play the next mainline Kingdom Hearts game. Kingdom Hearts IV is now officially targeting a late 2027 launch, and it's set to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox on PC, Steam and the Epic Games Store.

There's no confirmed pre-order date yet. Players can wishlist the game on supported platforms, but pre-orders haven't opened.

You can wishlist Kingdom Hearts IV on your preferred platform below:

The Bottom Line

Kingdom Hearts IV's D23 2026 showcase confirmed that its next world is based on Coco, sending Sora into the Land of the Dead, alongside a release window that's now officially late 2027 across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, Xbox on PC, Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The trailer also teased new story threads around a forgotten character and a final death, without offering real details yet. Pre-orders haven't opened, though wishlisting is already live on supported storefronts.