"Kingdom Hearts has captivated gamers everywhere with its unique blend of adventure and imagination," said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Kids and Family, announcing the news at D23. "There's something really exciting about taking a world fans have spent years exploring through the games and bringing it to life in a completely new way."
Disney dropped one of the biggest gaming-adjacent announcements at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim this past weekend. A Kingdom Hearts anime series, currently going by the working title Kingdom Hearts, has been officially greenlit for both Disney Channel and Disney+. The series is being developed alongside Kingdom Hearts II creator Tetsuya Nomura and the team at Square Enix, and will tell a brand-new story that expands on the existing universe rather than adapting any single game directly.
What the anime actually is (and isn't)
Here's the thing: this isn't a direct adaptation of any specific game in the series. Disney and Square Enix have been clear that the anime will feature an original story set within the Kingdom Hearts universe. That distinction matters. Fans who've spent dozens of hours with Kingdom Hearts II and the rest of the series know how dense and lore-heavy this franchise gets, so a brand-new story gives the creative team room to breathe without having to compress or skip over years of game narrative.
The involvement of Tetsuya Nomura as a development partner is genuinely significant. Nomura created the franchise and has directed most of its mainline entries, so this isn't a situation where Disney handed the IP to an outside animation studio and wished them luck. Square Enix's creative team is in the room.
The D23 reveal and what else came with it
The Kingdom Hearts announcement was part of the Disney Entertainment Showcase on August 15, which ran at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It was a packed night of reveals across Disney's entire slate, but the Kingdom Hearts news stood out for the gaming crowd specifically.
Also announced at the same showcase: Kingdom Hearts IV is in development, with the world of Pixar's Coco being brought into the game. Benjamin Bratt confirmed he'll voice Ernesto de la Cruz in the title. That's two major Kingdom Hearts announcements in a single night, which suggests Disney is treating the franchise as a serious long-term property rather than a nostalgia play.
Where the anime fits on Disney+
The series will join a growing slate of original animated content on Disney+, sitting alongside titles like Dragon Striker, Phineas and Ferb, the upcoming Warrior Cats, and Journey. Disney Channel is also listed as a broadcast home, which suggests the show is being positioned for a broad audience rather than exclusively targeting older fans of the games.
What most players miss when they hear "Disney Channel" is that it doesn't mean the show is being dumbed down. The Kingdom Hearts games themselves have always walked the line between Disney's family-friendly worlds and a surprisingly dark original story. An anime format could actually serve that tone well, particularly if the visual style leans into the action-heavy combat the games are known for.
Why this matters for the franchise
Kingdom Hearts has been a major gaming franchise since 2002, building a fanbase that's followed Sora across PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP, mobile, and beyond. The series has never had an anime adaptation before, making this a genuine first for a franchise that's been running for more than two decades.
The key here is the timing. With Kingdom Hearts IV also confirmed, Disney appears to be building toward a broader cultural moment for the IP, using both the anime and the new game to bring the franchise back into mainstream conversation. For longtime fans, it's a lot to process at once.
No release window for the anime has been confirmed yet. For players who want to revisit the series while waiting for more details, the Kingdom Hearts II strategy guides are a solid place to start brushing up on the lore that the anime will be expanding.
