Kingdom Hearts IV has a script nearly twice as long as Kingdom Hearts III, according to director Tetsuya Nomura. Speaking to Famitsu following the Kingdom Hearts IV panel at D23 2026, Nomura discussed the game’s extensive voice recording process and the progress being made on development.
Yasushi Yasue, co-director of Kingdom Hearts IV, revealed that English voice recording is currently underway, with around 60 to 70% of the overseas recording already completed. The Japanese voice recording has already been finished.
The sheer size of the Kingdom Hearts IV script has nevertheless made the recording process particularly demanding. “However, the script for this game was almost twice as long as that for Kingdom Hearts III, so the recording schedule was really tough,” Nomura explained to Famitsu.
Nomura added that there were some parts he wanted to include in the game but ultimately had to leave out because the recording schedule had reached its limits.
The scale of the script also reflects the size of the game’s story, although the development team has faced the challenge of maintaining consistency with the wider Kingdom Hearts mythology.
According to the interview, a staff member who previously organised and documented the series’ extensive lore was brought onto Kingdom Hearts IV as a proofreader. Their role includes checking the script against established Kingdom Hearts settings to ensure that the new story remains consistent with the franchise’s existing lore.
Nomura has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts IV is scheduled to release in the latter half of 2027 and will not be delayed. Yasue also said that development is progressing more smoothly than at any previous point in the series.
