When it comes to story, the trailer doesn’t reveal too many details. It starts out by showing us a porter looking at what appears to be a shelter that was built in the center of a crater created by a voidout. We then get a look at the character that will likely end up serving as the protagonist of the story, trying to get some rest, wearing an eye mask with an LED display showing the word “sleep”. This rest, however, is interrupted by what appears to be a nightmare about incoming BTs. The creepy imagery is accompanied by sounds of a baby crying, indicating that the protagonist will have their own BB to help them navigate through BT-infested zones.

More details about Death Stranding Isolations are revealed in the description for the trailer. Starting off with the words “My mom became a crater”, the description then explains the basic premise of the world of Death Stranding. Following a cataclysmic collision of the realms of the living and the dead, humanity was forced to live in isolation, including a young girl who will likely serve as the main protagonist from the trailer.

The show is being directed by Takayuki Sano – known for his work on several anime shows and movies, including Attack on Titan: The Last Attack, Promare, and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 – and the general production is being handled by E&H Production of Ninja Kamui and Bullet/Bullet fame. The story of the anime will be set in North America and will take place immediately after the events of the first game after Sam has linked up the continent with the Chiral Network.

We also get details on some of the other characters that might be involved in the story, including a “wise old man who connects people through a method that defies all reckoning”, “a female soldier ensnared in a cycle of war and destruction”, “a boy who seethes with rage at the absurdity of his life”, and “the girl who chose to sever all ties with the outside world.”

In the meantime, Kojima Productions is also working with A24 on a live-action film adaptation of Death Stranding, and when he first announced the animated series, he noted that “there are works like The Last of Us, which stays true to the original storyline, and films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie which are more of a service to fans of the game.”

“While these works have their own merits, as a film enthusiast, I want to pursue the expressive potential of cinema. I aim to create a Death Stranding that can only be realised through film, one that could win awards at festivals like the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival. In fact, we are also currently working on an anime adaptation.”

“DICE and, from what I’ve heard, Respawn are working on Battlefront 3. Not sure what this means for Battlefield.” In further replies, he even spoke about how cool it would be for a new Battlefront game to come out without EA having to put the Battlefield series on ice for the time being. “I want both Battlefield and Battlefront in the same cycle. Would be awesome. And yes, Star Warsdogs does sound cool.”

The last two Battlefront games were both released in years that lacked any Battlefield games, with the first entry of the 2010s revival coming out in 2015. Its sequel, aptly titled Star Wars Battlefront 2, was released in 2017. For the sake of comparison, 2015 was largely marked by post-launch support for Battlefield 4 along with the release of spinoff title Battlefield Hardline. Similarly, 2017 only featured post-launch DLC releases for the World War 1-themed Battlefield 1, with the next entry in the shooter franchise being released in the following year.

Interestingly, a report from this week has indicated that Lucasfilm has been in talks with Destiny and Marathon developer Bungie. According to Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, DICE wouldn’t be working on Battlefront 3. “If the Force is not entrusted to DICE, it could land at none other than Halo, Destiny, and Marathon developer Bungie.” He did note, however, that “there are conversations at the very least about who should take it on,” and that it isn’t “in the works yet.” As for why Disney might be going with another company for a new Battlefront game, Grubb has reported that Disney has a “bad taste in their mouth from working with EA for a very long time.”

In the meantime, Star Wars fans have had plenty to enjoy thanks to new releases like Zero Company and Galactic Racer. While the franchise used to be known for offering quite a bit of variety across different genres in the 1990s and 2000s, the 2010s were largely marked by a few new Star Wars games that never really took any major risks when it came to game design. Lucasfilm Games executive Douglas Reilly has said that the company now plans to be less restrictive about what kinds of games are made using the IP.

He said that Lucasfilm is trying to be “more flexible about, like, who we’re willing to take pitches from and good ideas can come from a lot of different places.” Ultimately, this means that the company is “exploring all kinds of things [with] large and small partners that I think are going to continue to surprise folks who are like, ‘Oh, they’re doing a thing with them. That might be interesting to see how that turns out.”

For more details about recent Star Wars games, check out our reviews for Zero Company and Galactic Racer. Both titles are available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

While Disney, which owns the rights, is certainly considering the same, it could tap into an unusual alternative: Bungie, developer of Marathon and Destiny, according to Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb in the latest Game Mess Mornings episode.

“If the Force is not entrusted to DICE, it could land at none other than Halo, Destiny, and Marathon developer Bungie,” he said. He noted that the game doesn’t seem to be “in the works yet,” but “there are conversations at the very least about who should take it on.” And while DICE is still in that conversation, Disney reportedly has a “bad taste in their mouth from working with EA for a very long time.”

That last part is probably an open secret, as Star Wars Battlefront 2 caused massive controversy in 2017 due to its Star Cards. The backlash spurred government regulatory measures against loot boxes in some countries. Of course, DICE remained committed to removing the system, overhauling its progression, adding new content and improving several other areas to the point that the sequel became very well regarded among fans.

Regardless, Bungie is an intriguing choice because Marathon, despite some ambitious plans for the coming months, isn’t exactly setting the gaming world on fire with its player numbers. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem set in stone, so stay tuned for more updates.

The shooter reportedly features Marvel and Star Wars characters, potentially the same as the alleged ARC Raiders-style extraction that received “middling internal reviews” back in April. But the guidance from one of its directors is “No more hand-written code,” claims Bloomberg from an internal message, which also noted that all art will be “generated with full AI workflows.”

Epic Games apparently underestimated the time needed for development and how much staff it would require. This has led to “slower than expected” progress, seemingly further echoing Disney’s reported disappointment in the studio’s “release timeline.”

In a statement to the publication, communications director Jake Jones said, “We’re embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.”

While the company has been pushing AI for some time now (see Fortnite), utilizing it so thoroughly for production has apparently gone down as well as you’d think. “Some made jokes about how they should handle errors produced by the AI-generated work,” claimed sources speaking to Schreier, “asking if they should ask Claude to fix its own mistakes. Some said they hoped that it was not a serious request or that the company would reverse course, arguing that the initiative wouldn’t be as successful as Epic hoped.”

Interestingly, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stated on Twitter that, “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.”

Damage control? Not wanting people to think that Epic is effectively replacing human developers with AI? Whatever the case, it’s certainly concerning. As always, stay tuned for further updates, because right now, Disney’s $1.5 billion investment into the Fortnite developer is looking less fruitful by the day.

In a statement, Frontier Developments CEO Jo Cooke spoke about being happy to work with Disney to create more management sims based on the company’s legendary franchises. While no details about this new project have been revealed, Cooke said that the studio will get to work on iconic and beloved brands.

“We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Disney, which further reinforces our clearly defined strategy of developing and nurturing world-class creative management simulation game franchises. Our mission with this game is to connect a passionate creative community of players with one of the world’s most iconic and beloved brands, and I can’t wait to see what our talented teams will create with this amazing opportunity.”

Considering the works of Frontier Developments, the new project might end up being anything from a smaller-scale theme park builder to a full-fledged Disney World simulator. More details about which IPs, which can range from Disney’s catalog of animated and live-action movies, as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and even Star Wars, will likely be revealed as the project makes its way through its pre-production stages.

In the meantime, the studio is currently getting ready for its next major release – Planet Zoo 2. The title is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release on October 13th. In recent days, Frontier Developments has been releasing quite a few trailers to showcase its various new features, with the most recent one giving us a glimpse at how players can explore their wildlife reserves either on foot or with a research vehicle.

Alongside Wildlife Reserves – a new feature that encourages players to think about wildlife and environmental preservation – Planet Zoo 2 is also introducing aviaries and aquariums to the franchise, with a host of new flora and fauna making their way to the game to use these new installations. Aviaries were showcased with a trailer last month, giving us a look at all of the planning and maintenance that goes into developing an ideal sanctuary for birds.

Aquatic creatures will have their own homes in Planet Zoo 2 thanks to the in-depth implementation of aquariums. Along with the typical management aspects that players will need to take care of, like maintenance, they will also need to ensure that they have appropriately set up their aquariums to support either freshwater or saltwater creatures. Filtration and sanitation systems also need to be built up and maintained.

For more details about Planet Zoo 2, check out the 35-minute deep dive video from back in June that focused on various aspects of the game, from visuals to new features and building mechanics.

“The release is still scheduled for late next year, and the development team is in the final stages, so we’ll be focusing on that for a while,” said Nomura. “We’re currently considering when to release the next information, so there will likely be a bit of a gap.”

“As for information on Kingdom Hearts 4, we’ve started to release some serious information this time, but we’ll be releasing more information gradually, so please look forward to further updates.”

That’s not to say that there is nothing planned in the meantime, however. Nomura teased that the company will do something for the 25th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. “Also, there will be something planned for next year’s 25th anniversary, so please look forward to that announcement.” In the meantime, Yasue has confirmed that the English voice acting for the title is around 60 to 70 percent completed.

The D23 showcase for Kingdom Hearts 4 revealed that one of the Disney worlds that players can explore in the upcoming title will be The Land of the Dead from Coco. During a deep dive panel, Nomura said that the decision to go with this world was because of how well it suited Sora’s story.

“Whenever I do have a chance to decide that we absolutely need to include a certain world. I generally think about how well it synergizes with the overall main story progression with Sora. When it comes to Kingdom Hearts 4, when I thought about the themes, we felt that Coco would be the best world that would help achieve that goal.”

During the same panel, Nomura also spoke about how there were no plans to push back the release of Kingdom Hearts 4. “We announced that the game is going to be coming late 2027, and I saw online that some people were saying, ‘oh, you know, maybe the actual release date might still get pushed back’,” he said.

“I just wanted to set the record straight – that is not happening. So I do hope people look forward to the game coming in 2027. A lot of the marketing for the game has only just started, and so I do hope that people also look forward to hearing more news as well.”

Kingdom Hearts 4 is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The title will pick up the story of Sora being stuck in the Quadratum, and will feature many of the various Disney worlds. Along with Coco, one of the trailers also featured the Underworld from Disney’s Hercules. Mickey Mouse is also set to play a major role in the story.

We get a look at the first Disney world: The Land of the Dead, the setting for 2017’s Coco. Sora meets with Miguel, fighting Heartless during his performance and even unlocking a new Keyblade form based on the world. In one sequence, he’s riding it on rails to battle a larger Heartless.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy travel to the Underworld from Hercules to meet with Hades, who reveals that Sora isn’t there. At one point in Quadratum, the latter sees his friends’ spirits and collapses before we cut to another scene where large Heartless attack. Another Keyblade wielder is with him, besides Strelitzia from Kingdom Hearts Union χ.

And what is Mickey Mouse doing? Hanging out in the library, noting that “This is a lot of new information.” Perhaps teasing fans that there’s more to come, especially with a Deep Dive panel set for today at 4:30 PM PST. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.

You can also check out the lat trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 here.

“The way Disney is shaping the future of interactive entertainment through games is really acknowledging that games have become a foundational part of the broader entertainment landscape,” he explained. This strategy has already gone on to pay dividends.

“We’ve built a really foundational footprint in games today,” he continued, going on to mention that the company has “nine games that have grossed over $1 billion at retail. So, it’s about telling truly original stories that really are unique to this medium, specifically.”

Looking to the future, Shoptaw spoke about wanting to build new franchises based on its various IPs, with this year’s attempts including the recently-released fighting game Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine.

“These are platforms where Gen Z [and] Gen Alpha primarily are spending a lot of their time, hanging out with their friends. It’s a really good example of just how powerful and meaningful these worlds can be.”

Disney is also continuing its relationship with Epic Games to tap into the audience that Fortnite has garnered. Shoptaw called the partnership a “really important one” since it gives Disney “a ton of opportunity to bring our great characters, stories, and worlds into that universe and build something truly unique to Disney.”

The Kingdom Hearts deep dive panel will take place on August 15th at 4:30 PM PT, and will feature actors Haley Joel Osment (Sora, Vanitas) and David Gallagher (Riku), along with Kingdom Hearts 4 co-director Tai Yasue. From Disney, the panel will feature voice actor Renée Johnson and Disney & Pixar Games representative Nana Gadd.

It is worth keeping in mind, however, that Disney hasn’t made any official statement about the panel being exclusively about Kingdom Hearts 4. However, the timing of the panel, coming just a few months after Kingdom Hearts 4 got a proper trailer, would indicate that Square Enix and Disney are getting ready to reveal more details about the title.

Kingdom Hearts 4 is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The title is slated to be the second entry in the Lost Master story arc that was kicked off in 2020’s Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. The story will revolve around Sora’s continued battles against the forces of darkness as well as his attempts to escape the Quadratum.

The last mainline entry in the franchise was Kingdom Hearts 3 in 2019, which acted as a grand finale for the Dark Seeker Saga that was first started with the original Kingdom Hearts. It got an expansion in 2020 – ReMind – which revolved around Sora coming to terms with the consequences of some of his choices.

Potentially at Disney’s D23, which will feature a series Deep Dive panel on August 15th. Odds initially seemed low, but as noted by Kingdom Hearts Insider, the D23 app lists the profiles of three key individuals: Square Enix’s Tai Yasue and actors Haley Joel Osment and David Gallagher.

The latter two are known for playing Sora/Vanitas and Riku throughout the series, so it makes sense that they may attend. Yasue is the standout because he’s a co-director on Kingdom Hearts 4. Even if there isn’t a new trailer showcased, there could be insights into Quadratum, the newest location.

Anything is possible, especially as store listings reportedly pointed to a launch in 2027 shortly after the last trailer dropped. Square Enix may let anticipation fester before truly kicking marketing into overdrive next year. But as it stands, Kingdom Hearts 4 is making steady progress after all these years. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

Starting at 4:30 PM PT and running for an hour, its purpose is to “commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts. Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic.”

Interestingly, a Disney Entertainment Showcase is also planned for August 14th, highlighting “what’s coming next across Disney’s movies, television, games, and live stage productions.” Could Kingdom Hearts 4 appear at either of these, even if it’s just to showcase the most recent trailer? Probably, but it’s just as likely that it skips them entirely. Never underestimate how unpredictable Square Enix, especially creative director Tetsuya Nomura, can be.

Even if new information were to be revealed, it’s looking more and more likely that Kingdom Hearts 4 will launch in 2027 or later. Confirmed for a simultaneous release on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2, EB Games and JB Hi-Fi both listed the title for next year. That could very well be a placeholder, but considering the team’s statement about working towards the series’ 25th anniversary – which is next year – it wouldn’t be all that surprising. As always, time will tell, so stay tuned for more updates.