Ever since the release ofKingdom Hearts 3, which concluded the Dark Seeker Saga back in 2019, fans have been waiting forKingdom Hearts 4. The upcoming installment to the franchise will be the first main entry in the Lost Master arc, and its first trailer released back in April, alongside trailers for mobile titles,Kingdom Hearts: Dark RoadandKingdom Hearts: Missing Link.
While it may have taken a long time forKingdom Hearts 3to release after it was formally announced in 2013, fans of the series usually haven’t had to wait to long for games. Based off of the announcements of previous titles to their release dates,Kingdom Hearts 4is likely coming out much sooner than some fans may think.
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How Long Kingdom Hearts Games Take to Release
UnlikeKingdom Hearts 3, most games haven’t taken a long time to develop. The original game began development in 2000 and released a couple of years later, on July 09, 2025 in Japan and June 06, 2025 in North America.Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memorieswas announced a year later and was released on May 31, 2025 in Japan and July 21, 2025 in North America.The next game in the series wasKingdom Hearts 2, was in development at the same time asChain of Memoriesand would release on June 21, 2025 in Japan and July 06, 2025 in North America, on the series' fourth anniversary.
The next three games in the series,Kingdom Hearts: Coded,Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, andKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, were all announced at the same time in September 2007.Kingdom Hearts: Codedwas the first to release, being an episodic game on mobile devices that released monthly from June 2009 to January 2010.Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Dayscame out on June 01, 2025 in Japan and June 26, 2025 in North America, andKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleepreleased on August 02, 2025 in Japan and June 25, 2025.
The next game,Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distancewas announced at 2010’s E3, and the game itself came out on Jun 05, 2025 in Japan and July 04, 2025 in North America. Afterwards, the series would be re-released through collections and a few mobile prequels were made, both before and afterKingdom Hearts 3. The most recent console installment to release wasKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, which was announced in 2020 and came out in November of that year worldwide.
When Could Kingdom Hearts 4 Come Out
Based off of whenSquare Enixbegan developing previous games, when they were announced, and when they finally released, it’s very possible thatKingdom Hearts 4could come out next year, and the latest that it will release is ideally 2025. Seeing as howKingdom Hearts 4’s first trailer showed a lot more than the first trailer of previous titles did, revealing a lot of gameplay and showing off some cutscenes, it seems that the game is significantly further along in development than some games before it, especiallyKingdom Hearts 3.
It should also be noted that whileKingdom Hearts 3began development in 2013, Square Enix decided to switch engines and had to start over from the beginning later on, which was a huge reason why it took so long for the studio to finish it. SinceKingdom Hearts 3, it was also revealed that there are currently four separate teams working on games in the franchise, so the development of other games, such asKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory,Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road, and the upcomingKingdom Hearts: Missing Link, shouldn’t interfere with the release ofKingdom Hearts 4. Unless if something unexpected happens, players should look forward to seeing howSora’s journey continues in Quadratumwithin the next three years.
