After what felt like ages, Kingdom Hearts has 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 until Kingdom Hearts Union X’s world-shattering ending, and others may suggest that it won’t be truly over until Dark Road is finished as well. Whatever one’s views, the battle between Sora, Riku, their friends, and Xehanort’s forces came to an end in Kingdom 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 what Kingdom Hearts 4 and 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 for Kingdom 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 eponymous Kingdom Hearts 4, though piecing them together may require discussion of SPOILERS for the whole series.
What We Know About Kingdom Hearts 4
Much of the information available on Kingdom Hearts 4 has been doled out over the past two years. Kingdom Hearts 3 and its Re:Mind DLC contained 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 4 is 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 normal Kingdom Hearts worlds, 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 to KH3, Re:Mind, and Melody of Memory imply that Riku will show up as well. It's unknown when Kingdom Hearts 4 will 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 like Kingdom Hearts will return to releasing spin-offs. Kingdom Hearts currently has four teams affiliated with it: the Osaka team, which worked on major entries since Birth By Sleep; the mobile team, which has shifted fully to working on the final Dark Road update now that Union X is done; and two newer teams on the franchise. One of these is presumably indieszero, which developed Melody of Memory and normally works on Square Enix's Theatrhythm Final Fantasy games. The other is unknown, but its work could crop up very soon.
Something big is planned for Kingdom Hearts' 20th anniversary in 2022, and it sounds like another spin-off. Something called Project Oath is planned for Q1 2022 according to a leak, and there is also an unnamed KH project rumored to be built on Unreal Engine 5. That one may be Kingdom Hearts 4 for all fans know, but Project Oath could be a KH3D-style game that bridges the gap between KH3 and 4. The Kingdom Hearts fandom may be getting its first look at the true nature of Quadratum very soon, and it’s going to be very telling for where Kingdom Hearts is headed next.
A Kingdom Hearts project is currently in development.