Disney Confirms Kingdom Hearts as Billion-Dollar Franchise Ahead of New Installment

Disney's Entertainment Showcase and fan event, D23, is currently underway, featuring a 'Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts' scheduled for August 15th to commemorate the series' upcoming 25-year milestone.

Ahead of the fourth installment in the popular franchise, Disney has revealed that Kingdom Hearts is one of its nine 'billion-dollar' franchises, alongside other heavy-hitters such as Marvel and Star Wars.

According to Sean Shoptaw, EVP of Global Games and Digital Entertainment at Disney, games are a core pillar of the broader Disney Entertainment ecosystem, and the company has recognized that they have become an essential part of the Disney landscape.

The Kingdom Hearts series originally debuted on the PS2 in 2002 and is set to receive native Switch versions of KINGDOM HEARTS - HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX (also coming to Switch 1), KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC) later this year in October.

The Disney Games Group portfolio spans nine billion-dollar franchises, with more than half emerging in the last 12 years, and has driven an estimated $3.5 billion in consumer spend annually for the past few years, crossing the $4 billion mark in the previous fiscal year.