While it doesn’t appear that development has officially commenced, preliminary work has begun on the next mainline installment in the long-running Dragon Quest series. Both series Executive Producer Yuu Miyake and Creator Yuji Horii have begun preparations for the still-unannounced Dragon Quest XII. Don’t expect to see it in any form anytime soon, but we at least know it exists, if only as a concept.
The tidbit was given as part of the announcement for the new Dragon Quest Walk mobile title. While it was nothing more than a mere mention, it should be enough to get fans excited for now. Miyake was quoted as saying this at the Dragon Quest Walk announcement event:
By the way, about Dragon Quest XII, which I’m sure is on everyone’s mind—Horii and I are currently making preparations on series developments that will connect to XII. I think it’s still too early, but we would like announce it in some form, so please wait a little while longer.
Again, it doesn’t appear as though things exist past the conceptual stage—if even that—but it should be reassuring to fans that the next entry in the franchise is coming.
Of course, don’t expect to see this title anytime soon. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age only released in 2017, with the title not making its way to the West until 2018. Horii himself said in 2018 that (the still technically unannounced) Dragon Quest XII was “still many years away,” though defining “keywords” for the titles were already established.
We’ve seen a pattern of around five years between releases of main Dragon Quest games, so this is a title that’s a long way’s out (and more than likely is next-gen). With fans in the West having to wait even longer for localized releases, it’s tough to say when we can conceivably see this title.
While Dragon Quest XII is years away, we’ll still see plenty of Dragon Quest games in the interim. Dragon Quest Builders 2 will be releasing in Summer 2019. A new Dragon Quest Monsters game was announced, though a Western release has not been confirmed (but we’re holding out hope).
[Source: Gematsu]
