Kingdom Hearts Becomes Second Top-Selling Steam Game in the U.S. After Extended D23 Trailer Sparks Fan Excitement

Kingdom Hearts is having a big moment on Steam, becoming the platform’s second best-selling game in the United States following the Kingdom Hearts IV gameplay trailer that was shown at D23 over the weekend. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix, a hefty compilation of games in the series, is soaring on Steam’s Top Sellers list, reaching second place as the most-purchased title within the U.S. on August 17, 2026. Data from SteamsCharts shows it accrued a peak player count of 10,139 players over the last 24 hours, with just over 8,000 players actively playing the game as of two hours prior to writing this article. It helps that Steam is currently having a massive sale for the franchise, with collections of the games listed at 70% off until Thursday, August 20. While it’s since dropped down to third place on the charts, eclipsed by the recently-released and well-received Mortal Shell II, this is still a massive achievement for the series, which last found itself on Steam’s Top Sellers charts back when Square Enix first brought the games to the platform in summer 2024. At that time, it reached its historic all-time concurrent Steam player peak, drawing in 11,152 players simultaneously. It’s not a massive surprise that Kingdom Hearts is seeing a surge in popularity right now; extended gameplay footage for Kingdom Hearts IV was shown at D23 over the weekend, snagging a spot in Disney’s Friday night showcase at the Honda Center and once again at the Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts panel on Saturday. The Land of the Dead from Coco is an explorable world in KHIV, which will see Sora team up with Miguel and Hector to fight off the heartless. We also got a better look at Quadratum, the realistic metropolis seen in previous trailers, where we see Sora using a smartphone for the first time. Perhaps the most exciting thing that was shown off in the trailer was a special gameplay segment where players take control of King Mickey in a Paper Mario, Link Between Worlds-esque mission. They will also be able to play as Goofy and Donald, who have seemingly lost track of Sora and are desperately searching for him. That’s not all; in a rare public appearance, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that Kingdom Hearts IV will release in late 2027, promising fans that this date would not get delayed. "One last thing I wanted to share: we announced the game will come late 2027. Online, some people were saying the release date might get pushed back. I want to set the record straight: that is not happening," Nomura said. With a firm release date in sight, fans are returning to Destiny Islands to refresh their memories and experience the series again before delving into the latest game. For a recap on the story so far, you can watch IGN’s video explaining the lore of Kingdom Hearts in five minutes, which is no small feat, considering how deep the iceberg goes. Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.

Aug 18, 2026 - 05:03

Kingdom Hearts Becomes Second Top-Selling Steam Game in the U.S. After Extended D23 Trailer Sparks Fan Excitement

Kingdom Hearts is having a big moment on Steam, becoming the platform’s second best-selling game in the United States following the Kingdom Hearts IV gameplay trailer that was shown at D23 over the weekend.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix, a hefty compilation of games in the series, is soaring on Steam’s Top Sellers list, reaching second place as the most-purchased title within the U.S. on August 17, 2026. Data from SteamsCharts shows it accrued a peak player count of 10,139 players over the last 24 hours, with just over 8,000 players actively playing the game as of two hours prior to writing this article.

It helps that Steam is currently having a massive sale for the franchise, with collections of the games listed at 70% off until Thursday, August 20.

While it’s since dropped down to third place on the charts, eclipsed by the recently-released and well-received Mortal Shell II, this is still a massive achievement for the series, which last found itself on Steam’s Top Sellers charts back when Square Enix first brought the games to the platform in summer 2024. At that time, it reached its historic all-time concurrent Steam player peak, drawing in 11,152 players simultaneously.

It’s not a massive surprise that Kingdom Hearts is seeing a surge in popularity right now; extended gameplay footage for Kingdom Hearts IV was shown at D23 over the weekend, snagging a spot in Disney’s Friday night showcase at the Honda Center and once again at the Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts panel on Saturday.

The Land of the Dead from Coco is an explorable world in KHIV, which will see Sora team up with Miguel and Hector to fight off the heartless. We also got a better look at Quadratum, the realistic metropolis seen in previous trailers, where we see Sora using a smartphone for the first time.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that was shown off in the trailer was a special gameplay segment where players take control of King Mickey in a Paper Mario, Link Between Worlds-esque mission. They will also be able to play as Goofy and Donald, who have seemingly lost track of Sora and are desperately searching for him.

That’s not all; in a rare public appearance, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that Kingdom Hearts IV will release in late 2027, promising fans that this date would not get delayed.

"One last thing I wanted to share: we announced the game will come late 2027. Online, some people were saying the release date might get pushed back. I want to set the record straight: that is not happening," Nomura said.

With a firm release date in sight, fans are returning to Destiny Islands to refresh their memories and experience the series again before delving into the latest game. For a recap on the story so far, you can watch IGN’s video explaining the lore of Kingdom Hearts in five minutes, which is no small feat, considering how deep the iceberg goes.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.

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