Meanwhile, a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV has been released, and Square Enix has also given the game a release window.
In an article for investors published on The Walt Disney Company’s website, the company revealed a surprising fact: Kingdom Hearts, the enchantingly strange Final Fantasy–Disney crossover series, is one of the company’s billion-dollar franchises. Titled “How Games Are Helping Shape Disney’s Next Chapter,” the article appears to be a combination of a triumphant review and a strategic plan intended primarily for readers focused on market considerations. This will appeal to shareholders, as the article highlights the company’s numerous sales achievements in the gaming industry, such as its increasingly close relationship with Epic Games and the Fortnite Creative platform, and the success of Marvel Rivals among Gen Z — not to mention Kingdom Hearts.
Disney’s executive vice president of games and digital entertainment, Sean Shoptaw, explained that the company boasts nine games whose retail sales have exceeded $1 billion. Among these are the mobile game Marvel Strike Force and Kingdom Hearts. It is difficult to know what to make of this development or its broader implications for the Earth spaceship. Kingdom Hearts remains popular and, rather surprisingly, spans multiple generations. While it was clearly a passion of the millennial generation given its release timeline, it also seems to be popular among Gen Z, as evidenced by the wild reactions it elicits whenever Sora, with his big shoes, reappears.
It’s no wonder that, in a quarter of a century, it has raked in $1 billion from 15 games, a significant proportion of which are repackaged collections of earlier titles. For Disney, that’s pocket change, as the new Spider-Man film alone will earn more than $1 billion by the end of its theatrical run. Congratulations to The Walt Disney Company, Square Enix and their shareholders.
Square Enix also unveiled a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV, confirming that the world of Pixar’s Coco will feature in the game. Since Coco was released in 2017, there has been plenty of time to incorporate it into the game. Kingdom Hearts IV is scheduled for release in late 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
Leave a Reply