Kotaku starts Kingdom Hearts retrospective ‘Guiding Key’ ahead of Kingdom Hearts IV

The editorial team says the series will revisit all Kingdom Hearts games and build toward Kingdom Hearts IV.

In the same article, Kotaku mentions an expected release for Kingdom Hearts IV in late 2027; that is an estimate, not a confirmed date.

What happened

Kotaku published an article on 8 October 2026 announcing its new Kingdom Hearts series, Guiding Key. The series is described by Kotaku as a recurring feature that replays and discusses the franchise. In the article, the name is explicitly tied to a format built around both revisiting and discussing the games, rather than serving as a standalone review of a single title.

According to the piece, the plan is to go through every Kingdom Hearts game in the Disney/Final Fantasy crossover series. Kotaku links that setup directly to the lead-up to Kingdom Hearts IV. That positions the series as a long-form retrospective that looks ahead to the next mainline entry, without yet laying out a full episode structure.

The article’s author, Kenneth Shepard, also writes about his own first encounter with the series. He says Kingdom Hearts was his first Square game and that he played it on PS2 by renting it with a sibling. Shepard adds that he could only play Destiny Islands and Traverse Town at the time because there was no memory card available to continue. He uses that personal detail to show how early the series made an impression on him.

Shepard also says he was already familiar with anime and pop culture through titles like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z. In the article, he uses that background to explain why Kingdom Hearts stood out to him as a young player. Kotaku also mentions the Kingdom Hearts I~III Collection on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2, placing the new series in a period when older mainline games are again available on modern hardware.

The article also cites Kingdom Hearts IV with an expected release in late 2027. Kotaku presents that as a forward-looking estimate, not a date confirmed by Square Enix. The site does not yet say which specific games will appear in Guiding Key or in what order, so the exact structure of the series remains undecided.

Background

The Square Enix Kingdom Hearts series combines characters and worlds from Disney and Final Fantasy. Kotaku uses that background to frame Guiding Key as a full-franchise revisit rather than a one-off discussion of a single game. The replay-and-book-club format fits a series that wants to re-examine multiple games and storylines.

In the article, Shepard also notes that he was already familiar with anime and pop culture through titles like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z. He uses that detail to explain why Kingdom Hearts immediately stood out to him as a young player. It is a personal context note, but it is also part of the introduction to the new feature.

Kotaku also references the Kingdom Hearts I~III Collection on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2. That places the new series in a period when the older mainline games are once again available on modern hardware. The collection matters here because Kotaku’s new feature is specifically built around revisiting earlier entries in the franchise.

The mention of Kingdom Hearts IV in late 2027 gives the series a clear direction. Kotaku uses that expected release as the anchor for the new feature, but the article leaves open how long the retrospective will run and which games will be covered in what order. For now, it remains an announced format rather than a fully detailed publication plan.

Sources

• Kotaku, article on Guiding Key and Kingdom Hearts from 8 October 2026.