The full programming lineup for next month’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event arrived today, and tucked among dozens of film and TV panels are a few sessions gaming fans will want on their radar. Leading the pack is a Kingdom Hearts panel commemorating 25 years of the series, with Disney Dreamlight Valley and Disney Lorcana also getting time on stage.
The Kingdom Hearts session, billed as Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts, promises a look at how the saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds and character voices behind the series. For those keeping count, the original Kingdom Hearts launched in Japan in March 2002, so the series’ actual 25th anniversary lands in March 2027. The panel description doesn’t tease any new game announcements, though. Kingdom Hearts IV isn’t mentioned once, though we’d be surprised if it doesn’t at least show up.
The panel does arrive during a stretch where Kingdom Hearts fans finally have concrete dates to circle after a rough few years. As I said when the Kingdom Hearts IV trailer resurfaced at June’s Nintendo Direct, it’s one of the most highly anticipated games of the decade, and Square Enix still hasn’t announced a release year for it. The Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] arrives first on October 8, bundling the existing saga for PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.
Elsewhere on the schedule, Your Dream, Your Valley: Disney Dreamlight Valley brings the game’s creators together for a retrospective and a sneak peek at what’s arriving in the life-sim in 2026, a few years removed from the game scrapping its free-to-play plans ahead of its full launch. Ravensburger’s Disney Lorcana team will also run through upcoming set releases for 2027 and beyond, along with future events and additional behind-the-scenes details on the trading card game.
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event runs August 14 through 16, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center, with the big evening shows held at the Honda Center. Afternoon Only D23 Fan Passes cost $49 for each of the three days, and full-day Sunday passes remain available as well. Reservations for convention center panels go through a randomized selection process that opens July 20 at 12:00 PM Pacific (3:00 PM Eastern) and closes July 24 at 12:00 PM Pacific (3:00 PM Eastern), with confirmed reservations emailed starting August 7 and standby queues covering most convention center stages.
