A new installment in the franchise is in the works, despite the secrecy and silence surrounding it… but we wonder how the death of the character designer will affect it!
Dragon Quest’s developers have changed frequently, with Chunsoft, Heartbeat, Level-5, Square Enix and, in the case of the remakes, ArtePiazza all working on the IP originally published by Enix. Game designer and scriptwriter Yuji Horii remains committed to the franchise, as does composer Koichi Sugiyama. Character designer Akira Toriyama has passed away (he was best known for Dragon Ball), which may have an impact on development, but will certainly affect the future of the franchise.
Horii said that the developers are still working hard on Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, and he hopes to show more of it in time. Not much is known about the new installment of the veteran JRPG. It will run on Unreal Engine 5 and is being co-developed by Orca. The studio previously worked on Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and its Definitive Edition version, so it’s understandable that their name is once again attached to the IP, although things will change significantly as Horii will also be working on the command-based combat system.
In addition to Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, there’s more to come from the franchise. This year, the HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest Parts One and Two will be released for both PC and consoles, so the Erdrick-ness that began with the remake of Part Three, released in November of this year, will come to an end before the end of 2025 (unless they delay one of the parts until 2026… you never know). So that should allow the franchise to keep the attention while the Horii’s slowly move forward with the new installment.
Hopefully, Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate will be as legendary as Dragon Quest VIII was on the PS2!
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