Square Enix showed the first proper gameplay footage of Kingdom Hearts 4 at the June 2026 Nintendo Direct, four years after the game’s initial announcement and well beyond the window when most fans had expected an update.

The new trailer showed protagonist Sora navigating a large-scale urban environment that bears a close resemblance to Tokyo’s Shibuya district, rendered in a grittier and more realistic visual style than any previous entry in the series. A massive Kaiju-type enemy loomed over rain-soaked streets in the footage, hinting at a scale of encounter that marks a significant departure from the fantasy and cartoon-adjacent worlds the series has historically inhabited.

Familiar characters appeared in the trailer for the first time in-game. Donald and Goofy are confirmed to return, as are members of Organization XIII. It is the clearest signal yet that the game will not abandon the franchise’s established cast even as it pushes into unfamiliar visual territory.

Kingdom Hearts 4 was confirmed as a day-one release on Nintendo Switch 2, alongside PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC platforms. Square Enix did not announce a release date, but the breadth of the showing suggested the game has moved well into production and a 2026 or early 2027 window is plausible.

Alongside the KH4 footage, Square Enix announced the Kingdom Hearts Collection — a bundle of multiple games from the franchise launching on October 8, giving new players a way to work through the series before Kingdom Hearts 4 arrives.

The Nintendo Direct was a strong showing for Switch 2’s gaming pipeline. The Zelda Ocarina of Time remake was also confirmed during the same presentation, giving the platform two significant franchise announcements in a single broadcast. Nintendo Switch 2 has already shipped nearly 20 million units globally, and a deep software lineup is central to sustaining that momentum into year two.

The Kingdom Hearts series has a loyal following that has waited patiently through years of spin-offs and mobile titles since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 in 2019. The SpaceX-Cursor deal earlier this month showed how aggressively the gaming-adjacent AI sector is moving, though for traditional gaming fans, the Kingdom Hearts reveal landed as pure nostalgia rewarded. The full Nintendo Direct is available to watch via Nintendo’s official site.

Square Enix has not confirmed a release window beyond a general 2026 or later estimate. The next update will likely come at a dedicated Square Enix showcase or at a later Nintendo Direct, where actual gameplay mechanics — combat, exploration, and story setup — are expected to be explained in more detail.