Bandai Namco slipped up, and while the clue has already been removed, it is now far too late.
The future of Dragon Ball may have been revealed much earlier than expected. Bandai Namco appears to have accidentally leaked the nature of a new, still unannounced game tied to the franchise created by Akira Toriyama. A Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 playlist briefly appeared on the Bandai Namco Southeast Asia YouTube channel, and it contained only the official trailer for Dragon Ball Age 1000. On the surface, this seemed to confirm that Dragon Ball Age 1000, which features a brand-new protagonist designed by the late Toriyama, is actually the next entry in the Xenoverse franchise. The playlist has since been deleted.
Dragon Ball Age 1000 was officially unveiled worldwide on January 25 during the Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri event. During the international livestream, the continuation of the Dragon Ball Super anime was confirmed for the first time, along with a new anime remake expected to arrive in fall 2026. Currently slated for 2027, Dragon Ball Age 1000 is said to include more elements and locations than previous Dragon Ball games, and its development has reportedly been ongoing for six to seven years with Toriyama actively involved.
The game’s protagonist – a newly created Toriyama character with a slim build and white hair that turns gold in Super Saiyan form – is just one of several new characters introduced in the project. Fans are currently speculating about how this new lead might connect to the original Dragon Ball cast. Most importantly, the initial reveal also stated that the official title of Dragon Ball Age 1000 will be announced at a later date. It is also worth noting that the game is set to be shown in greater detail during Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2026, which will be held on April 18-19 in the United States. Although no gameplay details were revealed at Genkidamatsuri, many fans believe Age 1000 could be an online multiplayer title based on its futuristic time-skip setting and its new blank-slate protagonist.
If Age 1000 really is Xenoverse 3, then the likely sequel would fit neatly with earlier entries, where players created their own characters in the vast Dragon Ball universe and played online together to complete time-travel missions that threatened the series’ official timeline. The most recent entry, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, launched on October 25, 2016.
Source: CBR
