The man who helped open the door to one of Disney’s most successful video game franchises has little memory of doing it.

Eisner and the (Broken) Chain of Memories

Former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner was recently asked about his role in approving the original Kingdom Hearts, the 2002 action role-playing game that combined Disney characters and worlds with elements of Japanese developer Square’s Final Fantasy franchise.

Game File reporter Stephen Totilo approached Eisner following an event at New York City’s Paley Center for Media. Eisner participated in the event as an investor in Delphi Interactive, a video game company involved with projects including 007 First Light and a FIFA World Cup game for Netflix.

Totilo asked Eisner whether he remembered approving a game called Kingdom Hearts. Eisner simply replied: “No.”

After Totilo reminded him that the project was pitched in Tokyo as a combination of Final Fantasy and Disney characters, Eisner appeared to recollect his memory of the series. However, when asked why he ultimately said yes to the unconventional yet historic collaboration, Eisner said: “I don’t.”

The Story of Disney’s Most Unexpected Video Game Success

While Eisner may no longer remember the reasoning behind his decision, accounts from former Disney Interactive executive Shuji Utsumi have illustrated just how important his approval was.

Shuji Utsumi joined Disney Interactive as its Asia-Pacific representative in 2000. Shortly thereafter, he learned that Japanese video game developer SquareSoft (operating today as Square Enix) was already actively developing an action role-playing game that integrated Final Fantasy elements and classic Disney characters – despite the project never receiving formal authorization from Disney headquarters.

The proposed crossover was unprecedented for Disney. Disney Japan lacked the authority to approve such a project, and the company did not even have an established style guide for creating a three-dimensional Mickey Mouse. Some veteran Disney employees in Japan expected the project to be rejected and advised Utsumi to prepare for its cancellation.

Utsumi eventually presented Kingdom Hearts to Michael Eisner and then-COO President Bob Iger during a visit to Japan connected with Tokyo DisneySea and the Japanese division’s strong financial performance.

More than 100 Japanese and American managers attended the presentation. While Eisner did not react with enthusiasm to the original concept, he offered encouragement that reportedly conveyed a sentiment like “keep at it and do it right.”

Other executives in attendance interpreted his response as authorization to support the project, clearing the internal obstacles that threatened its development, and ultimately securing its release on the PlayStation 2 in 2002.

The first installment of Kingdom Hearts introduced Sora, a Keyblade wielder who travels between Disney-inspired worlds alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. The game spawned several numbered sequels, additional handheld and mobile titles, remastered collections, manga, novels, merchandise, and much more.

The series will next continue with another major installment in the form of Kingdom Hearts IV. Square Enix revealed new footage from the game in June and confirmed it will be available for Nintendo Switch 2. No release date has been announced.

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