After what felt like ages,Kingdom Heartshas finally completed its first story arc. The Dark Seeker Saga, or the “Xehanort Saga,” is finally finished after 17 years. Some fans could split hairs and say that it didn’t finish untilKingdom Hearts Union X’s world-shattering ending, and others may suggest that it won’t be truly over untilDark Roadis finished as well. Whatever one’s views, the battle between Sora, Riku, their friends, and Xehanort’s forces came to an end inKingdom Hearts 3. Now, the famous Square Enix and Disney crossover franchise can move on to bigger and better things.
The only real problem with all of this is that the inevitable next installment feels like it’s an eternity away, and it’s not clear when the next news for it will come out. Hints have been dropped for whatKingdom Hearts 4and the next project will be, but nothing has been released yet to really tie everything together. Once again, it’s left to the fans to puzzle out what’s next forKingdom Hearts, made a bit more bearable by the series suddenly dropping on PC. There are plenty of scattered hints as to the series’ future and the nature of the eponymousKingdom Hearts 4, though piecing them together may require discussion ofSPOILERSfor the whole series.
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What We Know About Kingdom Hearts 4
Much of the information available onKingdom Hearts 4has been doled out over the past two years.Kingdom Hearts 3and itsRe:MindDLCcontained a lot of information on the upcoming game’s setting, and to some degree, its characters. The Foretellers are assembled once more, minus the kind Ava for now. The black box Luxu/Xigbar holds will contain something of importance, and will perhaps be related to the Master of Masters' true goals and personal foes, the Darkness. One theory on the upcoming saga’s plot is that the Foretellers will serve as vessels for the Darkness so that they can be destroyed, but who will be doing that destroying is up in the air.
Kingdom Hearts 4is likely taking place in a new,modern Japan-like world called Quadratum, with a partially refreshed cast in tow. It is some sort of “unreality” compared to the normalKingdom Heartsworlds, and is key to the Master of Masters’ plans. Yozora will almost certainly take center stage, though his design may undergo a change, as implied by his dialogue. Sora may be out of commission for a while to help Yozora (and possibly his friends in Verum Rex) get settled in, and the endings toKH3,Re:Mind, andMelody of Memoryimply that Riku will show up as well. It’s unknown whenKingdom Hearts 4will come out, but it’s not expected for several years.
What Will Happen In Kingdom Hearts' Future
Fortunately, now that another big entry has dropped, it looks likeKingdom Heartswill return to releasing spin-offs.Kingdom Heartscurrently has four teams affiliated with it: the Osaka team, which worked on major entries sinceBirth By Sleep; the mobile team, which has shifted fully to working on the finalDark Roadupdate now thatUnion Xis done; and two newer teams on the franchise. One of these is presumably indieszero, which developedMelody of Memoryand normally works on Square Enix’sTheatrhythm Final Fantasygames. The other is unknown, but its work could crop up very soon.
Something big is planned forKingdom Hearts' 20th anniversary in 2022, and it sounds like another spin-off. Something calledProject Oathis planned for Q1 2022 according to a leak, and there is also an unnamedKHproject rumored to be built on Unreal Engine 5. That one may beKingdom Hearts 4for all fans know, butProject Oathcould be aKH3D-stylegame that bridges the gap betweenKH3and4. TheKingdom Heartsfandom may be getting its first look at the true nature of Quadratum very soon, and it’s going to be very telling for whereKingdom Heartsis headed next.
AKingdom Heartsproject is currently in development.
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