Kingdom Hearts 4 is in "early development" despite the flashy trailer

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It'll also be using Unreal Engine 5

Kingdom Hearts 4
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Kingdom Hearts 4 is in "early development," and will take advantage of Unreal Engine 5.

Yesterday on April 10, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts 4, the latest in the long-running action-packed series, with a flashy reveal trailer. Although a brand new look and combat system for the sequel was unveiled, Square Enix has now confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 4 is in "early development," via a press release.

This might come as something of a surprise to fans, since we saw Sora with a brand new look in the trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4, as well as story beats and new combat abilities. Taking this new information into account however, it's entirely possible that Kingdom Hearts 4 might look very different when it eventually releases, and might not even feature the same combat system as the reveal trailer. Don't take the trailer to guarantee any features of the final game, in other words.

What we can say for certain about the sequel is that it's being made using Unreal Engine 5. Reporting from Famitsu around the 20th anniversary celebrations for the Kingdom Hearts series confirms that Square Enix is switching to the snazzy new-gen engine for Kingdom Hearts 4, so we can expect the new game to look a lot more advanced than Kingdom Hearts 3, for example.

Elsewhere, some fans have apparently found Sora's apartment, and it costs a staggering $1.2 million to buy. The new reveal trailer showed Sora and company trotting around a cityscape, with our lead kicking back in a swanky high rise. Fans have been able to deduce roughly where this in real world Tokyo, and it goes for an enormous sum, so we're really not sure how Sora's affording the new digs.

Check out our new games 2022 guide for a complete look over all the games confirmed for this year.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.