[STEAM] Kingdom Hearts Is a Billion-Dollar Franchise, Disney Declares Ahead of Hotly Anticipated D23 Panel

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Kingdom Hearts is one of nine billion-dollar franchises Disney has under its video game banner.

The news comes ahead of a hotly anticipated panel at D23,

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.

In a

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, Disney said its Disney Games Group portfolio “spans nine billion-dollar franchises including Kingdom Hearts and Marvel Strike Force.” More than half of these billion-dollar franchises have come out in the last 12 years.

Disney games have driven an estimated $3.5 billion in consumer spend annually for the past four years — and crossed $4 billion this past fiscal year, Disney said. That includes all Marvel games, all Star Wars games, indeed all games based on any Disney IP, of which there are many.

Upcoming Disney games include Marvel’s Wolverine, from Insomniac, the Iron Man game from EA’s Motive, and Star Wars Eclipse from Quantic Dream, although

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. Meanwhile, Disney is also the rights holder for Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi 3, Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation 2, and Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra.

Kingdom Hearts’ name on Disney's billion-dollar list perhaps comes as a surprise, given how few mainline entires have been released since Kingdom Hearts released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. It suggests Kingdom Hearts games really do sell well, and goes some way to explaining the anticipation for Kingdom Hearts 4.

Speaking of which, a livestream of the ‘DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS panel at D23’ will be available on August 15 at 4.30pm PT / 7.30pm ET / August 16 at 12.30am *** time. Disney said it will offer a “behind-the-scenes look at the making of the games,” but it’s who’s on the panel that has fans excited for what is now expected news on Kingdom Hearts 4.

The panel guests are Nana Gadd from Disney & Pixar Games, **** Yasue from Square Enix, Haley Joel Osment, who voices Sora, David Gallagher, who voices Riku, and Renée Johnson, who is behind the Disney character voices. With a panel like that (Yasue is believed to be co-director of Kingdom Hearts 4), you’d like to think we’ll get something on the hotly anticipated sequel.

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to reveal a first look at gameplay years after the game itself was announced. In a separate post, Square Enix confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 4 will launch simultaneously for PC via Epic Games Store and Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, as well as Nintendo Switch 2.

"A new installment in the action role-playing series developed and published by Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts 4 gives fans a look at some of the characters that protagonist Sora will meet in the mysterious city of Quadratum," an official description for the game said. "Sora will once again journey to realms, where new figures cross his path and new powers awaken his next chapter. Kingdom Hearts 4 will be available at launch on Nintendo Switch 2."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on

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at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld.

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