{"id":7893,"date":"2026-08-15T10:19:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T02:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-billion-dollar-d23-august-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T10:19:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T02:19:24","slug":"kingdom-hearts-billion-dollar-d23-august-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-billion-dollar-d23-august-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Kingdom Hearts Is Now a Billion-Dollar Franchise \u2014 Watch the D23 Deep Dive Tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Disney has officially confirmed what longtime fans have suspected for years: Kingdom Hearts is a billion-dollar franchise. The announcement landed this week ahead of a dedicated D23 Deep Dive panel streaming tonight \u2014 and Singapore fans can catch it live on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n<h2>Kingdom Hearts Hits the Billion-Dollar Mark<\/h2>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kh_billion.webp?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Disney Games portfolio including Kingdom Hearts, Marvel Games, Lucasfilm Games\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of Square Enix \/ Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sean Shoptaw, Executive Vice President of Global Games and Digital Entertainment at Disney, revealed in an official blog post that the company&#8217;s games division now spans nine franchises that have each cleared $1 billion in retail revenue. Kingdom Hearts is one of them \u2014 sitting in the Disney &amp; Pixar Games label alongside Marvel Strike Force and titles from Lucasfilm Games and 20th Century Games.<\/p>\n<p>Shoptaw noted that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.comicbasics.com\/disney-says-kingdom-hearts-is-now-a-1-billion-gaming-franchise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;games have become such an important part of the broader Disney landscape&#8221;<\/a> and are increasingly &#8220;the first place audiences discover Disney&#8217;s characters and worlds.&#8221; Disney Games as a whole drove an estimated $3.5 billion in annual consumer spending in recent years, surpassing $4 billion in the most recent fiscal year. It&#8217;s a remarkable figure for a series that began as an unlikely crossover between Square Enix&#8217;s Final Fantasy DNA and Disney&#8217;s beloved animated worlds back in 2002.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kh_sora.jpg?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Kingdom Hearts IV \u2014 Sora in combat in Quadratum\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of Square Enix \/ Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Watch the D23 Deep Dive Live \u2014 Sunday Morning SGT<\/h2>\n<p>The timing of the billion-dollar reveal is no accident. Disney is hosting a <strong>&#8220;Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts&#8221;<\/strong> panel at its D23 fan event in Anaheim today, August 15, at 4:30 PM PT \u2014 that&#8217;s <strong>7:30 AM SGT on Sunday, 16 August<\/strong>. The hour-long session will be livestreamed on the official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@KingdomHearts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kingdom Hearts YouTube channel<\/a> and the Disney YouTube channel, so Singapore fans can set an alarm and tune in from the couch.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gt-video\">\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OwEGvfjAk0I\" title=\"DEEP DIVE Into KINGDOM HEARTS | D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allow=\"accelerometer;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture;web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>DEEP DIVE Into KINGDOM HEARTS | D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event \u2014 via KINGDOM HEARTS on YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Note: the panel may not be saved as a VOD after the stream, so watch live if you can. If it is archived, we&#8217;ll update this post.<\/p>\n<h2>What to Expect From the Panel<\/h2>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kh_keyblade.jpg?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Kingdom Hearts IV \u2014 Sora battles a large Heartless in an urban street\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of Square Enix \/ Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The panel commemorates the series&#8217; 25th anniversary (the actual milestone falls in 2027) and is confirmed to feature a behind-the-scenes look at how the games come together. Panellists include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nana Gadd<\/strong> \u2014 Disney &amp; Pixar Games<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tai Yasue<\/strong> \u2014 co-director at Square Enix<\/li>\n<li><strong>Haley Joel Osment<\/strong> \u2014 voice of Sora (and Vanitas)<\/li>\n<li><strong>David Gallagher<\/strong> \u2014 voice of Riku<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ren\u00e9e Johnson<\/strong> \u2014 Disney character voices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Disney has not confirmed outright that Kingdom Hearts IV will appear, but with Tai Yasue on stage, the series co-director in tow, and the franchise&#8217;s biggest financial milestone as backdrop, anticipation among fans is understandably high. Speculation is running hot on whether a new KH4 trailer \u2014 possibly showing English voice acting and the first confirmed Disney worlds \u2014 could drop during the stream.<\/p>\n<h2>The Switch 2 Collection Is Still on Track for October<\/h2>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kh_tag.jpg?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Kingdom Hearts IV official logo\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of Square Enix \/ Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Singapore fans who haven&#8217;t played the older entries, good news: the Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] \u2014 covering HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX, HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind \u2014 is still confirmed for <strong>Nintendo Switch 2 on 8 October 2026<\/strong>, alongside PS5 and Xbox Series X|S releases. <a href=\"\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-iv-switch-2-collection-october-2026\/\">As we covered when the collection was confirmed for Switch 2<\/a>, the original Switch versions will run via cloud streaming. This is the complete, native way to get the full saga on Nintendo hardware before KH4 arrives.<\/p>\n<p>Set that alarm for Sunday morning. If anything big drops from the D23 stage, we&#8217;ll have the breakdown up shortly after. Check in on <a href=\"\/blog\/category\/game-news\/\">our game news section<\/a> for the follow-up.<\/p>\n<p><!--GT-SCOUT source=\"Web (English)\" theme=\"Video games\" flags=\"none\"--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disney confirms Kingdom Hearts has crossed the $1 billion mark. Catch the D23 Deep Dive panel live at 7:30 AM SGT on 16 August, with Sora&#8217;s voice actor and the series co-director.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[11],"tags":[777,169,142,45,46],"class_list":["post-7893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-news","tag-d23","tag-disney","tag-kingdom-hearts","tag-nintendo-switch-2","tag-square-enix"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kh_billion.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p13AlF-23j","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5685,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-d23-2026-25th-anniversary-panel\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":0},"title":"Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Panel Set for D23 2026 \u2014 SG Watch Guide","date":"July 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Disney confirms a 'Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts' panel at D23 2026 on 15 August \u2014 Singapore fans can catch it live at 7:30 AM SGT on 16 August.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Game News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kh-d23-sora-banner.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3552,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-iv-switch-2-collection-october-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":1},"title":"Kingdom Hearts IV Confirmed for Switch 2 \u2014 Plus Native Collection This October","date":"June 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Kingdom Hearts IV hits Switch 2 day one alongside PS5 and PC. The native Collection [I-III] arrives 8 October \u2014 and existing cloud owners get 50% off.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Game News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kh4_main.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3409,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kingdom-hearts-iv-switch-2-launch-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":2},"title":"Kingdom Hearts IV Revealed: Switch 2 Launch Title, First Gameplay After 4 Years","date":"June 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Kingdom Hearts IV has finally been confirmed \u2014 the first real gameplay trailer dropped at Nintendo Direct June 2026, and it's coming to Switch 2, PS5, Xbox and PC on day one.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kh4_img1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":620,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/the-future-of-3d-gaming\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":3},"title":"More of Final Fantasy XIII and Next-Gen PSP","date":"January 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Final Fantasy\u00a0Versus XIII Haven't got enough of Final Fantasy XIII? Check out this all new gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy\u00a0Versus XIII! Blew my mind totally! FF Versus 13 is going to be an action RPG that could be similar to Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core. While no release date has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Game Tech news&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/sony-ericsson-psp-phone-concept-looks-great-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7480,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/nintendo-eshop-summer-sale-2026-singapore-august-17\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":4},"title":"Nintendo eShop Summer Sale 2026: Hundreds of Switch Games on Sale Until 17 August","date":"August 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Nintendo's Summer Sale is confirmed live in Singapore until 17 August 2026, with hundreds of Switch and Switch 2 games on sale \u2014 including FF7 Remake at 60% off and Story of Seasons up to 80% off.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Game News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nintendo-eshop-summer-sale-2026.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6664,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/remarried-empress-disney-plus-fall-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":7893,"position":5},"title":"The Remarried Empress Drops First Poster \u2014 Disney+ This Fall","date":"July 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Disney+ drops the first poster for The Remarried Empress, starring Shin Min-ah \u2014 a 10-episode K-drama based on the hit manhwa with 2.97 billion views, coming this fall.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Manga Anime&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/remarried-empress-poster.jpg?fit=842%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}