Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveals Its First New World — Pixar's Coco — at D23

Kingdom Hearts 4 is heading to the Land of the Dead. At the D23 Entertainment Showcase on 14 August 2026, Disney and Square Enix confirmed that the first new world in Kingdom Hearts 4 is inspired by Pixar's Coco, and the footage leans hard into the film's Día de los Muertos aesthetic. Square Enix has refined the release window to late 2027, narrowing the broader 2027 target the game has carried since its original announcement in 2022. (Eurogamer, IGN)

The trailer opens in Coco's Land of the Dead, where Miguel's grandfather Héctor warns that the dead who are forgotten by the living face a "Final Death" — a permanent vanishing. Sora, the series' long-running protagonist, wears custom skull face paint matching the world's Day of the Dead style. He teams up with Miguel and Héctor to fight Heartless (the shadowy enemies that recur across the series), and picks up a new Coco-themed Keyblade — the key-sword weapons that define the franchise's combat. (Eurogamer)

Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora's usual travelling companions, are absent from the Coco footage. Instead, the trailer shows them searching for Sora in the Underworld and around Quadratum, the realistic, Tokyo-inspired hub city at the centre of Kingdom Hearts 4's story. The split hints that the party is separated early in the game, though Square Enix has not detailed the full plot. (Eurogamer)

Beyond the game itself, Disney and Square Enix announced a Kingdom Hearts anime series. No release date, studio, or platform details were given alongside the announcement. (Eurogamer)

Disney Animation Studios chief Jared Bush, speaking at the same D23 event, did not rule out the possibility of a Kingdom Hearts movie. He offered no further details, but the comment alone was enough to catch attention from a franchise that has crossed film and games for two decades. (IGN)

The Coco announcements did not stop at the game. Disney also set a November 2029 release for Coco 2, the theatrical sequel to the 2017 animated film. (IGN)

For fans, the D23 showcase delivered a rare convergence: the game, a potential series, a possible film, and a sequel to the source film itself, all under one event. Square Enix has also scheduled a dedicated Kingdom Hearts IV event for 5 September, available to watch live in person or online, which should bring more details on how the Coco world fits into Sora's next adventure. (Eurogamer)

Kingdom Hearts 4 is in development for consoles, though specific platforms have not been confirmed. The franchise, which blends Disney and Square Enix characters across worlds built from animated films, has sold over 36 million copies worldwide since its 2002 debut.