Disney has nine game franchises that have made over $1 billion, and Kingdom Hearts is one of them, which should hopefully raise the chances of seeing Kingdom Hearts 4 at this weekend's D23 panel.
Disney's executive vice president of global games, Sean Shoptaw, recently announced the firm holds "nine games that have grossed over $1 billion at retail" and emphasized the importance of "telling truly original stories that really are unique to this medium, specifically."
The Disney exec didn't list all nine of the company's $1 billion gaming franchises, but he did single out Kingdom Hearts and Marvel Strike Force as examples.
The Square Enix series has been putting clown-footed anime protagonists into the background of iconic Disney scenes for about 24 years and 13 games, so it's likely Kingdom Hearts grossed a modest $1 billion a while ago, but this is the first time the company has publicly given the series its flowers in this fashion.
And the timing couldn't be more perfect - especially if, like me, you've been patiently waiting for more Kingdom Hearts 4 news since its reveal 1,587 days ago... or something... not that I've been counting.
The long-awaited sequel finally reared its head with a new trailer earlier this summer, and fans are convinced that another look is right around the corner at this weekend's The Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts D23 panel, owing to the fact that the game's co-director and cast are confirmed to be in attendance. We still haven't seen any actual Disney worlds in the Disney crossover project - now's a good a time as any to show Sora punching up with Peter Griffin, then.
Last we heard, Kingdom Hearts had sold over 38 million copies over its entire history. That was just before Square Enix put out a mammoth All-In-One Package full of re-releases last year, and then another re-release package with this year's Kingdom Hearts Collection.
