Tetsuya Nomura says he’s considering retirement, and concluding Kingdom Hearts’ story

Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7 Remake director Tetsuya Nomura has said that he’s considering retirement, and that he’s planning to bring the Kingdom Hearts series to an end.

Nomura, who turns 54 next month, spoke to YoungJump about his career and future plans. When asked about his plans for the future of the Kingdom Hearts series, Nomura laughed and said, “I only have a few years left until I retire, I have to decide whether to retire first or finish the series first.”

He added: “I’m making Kingdom Hearts 4 now with the intention of it being a story that I will complete.”

Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced during a Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary event in 2022. Little detail has been shared since then.

According to publisher Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts 4 will mark the beginning of an “epic new storyline” titled the ‘Lost Master Arc.’ This seems to contradict Nomura’s statement about his imminent retirement, especially as he’s also handling  the ongoing Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

In the announcement trailer, players were introduced to Quadratum, which Square Enix described as “a large, expansive city set in a gorgeous, realistic world unlike anything ever seen before in the Kingdom Hearts series.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Nomura commented on this new setting.

“I like worlds that are slightly different from “possible” reality, rather than ones that are too false. It’s the same with movies, but if the world is too fantasy based I can’t really get into it.

“So I like settings that are like based in Shibuya but not the real Shibuya. Rather than complete fantasy, I think that “unrealistic within reality” fits the fantasy view well.”