On February 8, 2025, the founding creator of Square Enix's legendary Dragon Quest franchise, Yuji Horii, hosted a livestream with his radio show group KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku, to share an update on the next big installment of the series, Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate.
According to Yoji Horii (as translated by Automaton-Media), the developers at Square Enix are working hard on Dragon Quest 12, and he hopes to share more concrete information on the game little by little in the future.
Dragon Quest 12 was first announced on May 27, 2021, as a follow-up to 2017's critically acclaimed Dragon Quest XI. However, there's been very little information shown on the title in nearly four years, so fans were worried it might've been canceled.
However, thanks to this news update from Yuji Horii, fans can rest easy knowing that the next big chapter in the Dragon Quest franchise is still alive and that more info will be announced soon.
What little is known about Dragon Quest 12 is that it will feature a darker, more mature storyline than the previous installments, as the Dragon Quest series is generally known to feature light-hearted adventures. Additionally, Dragon Quest 12 aims to reinvent the series' trademarked turn-based combat system and have the story themed around making difficult choices that can alter the fates of the characters you meet.
What new adventures await in this new, dark chapter of the Dragon Quest series?
As a Dragon Quest fan, I'm curious to see how Square Enix will tackle creating a darker Dragon Quest title aimed at an older audience, as the games aren't afraid to implement dark, tragic elements in their mostly kid-friendly stories. Dragon Quest 5 and Dragon Quest 11, in particular, without spoilers, have emotional moments that are downright heart-breaking to watch and would even give the saddest moments of the Final Fantasy series a run for their money.
While we wait to see what Dragon Quest 12 has in store for us, we'll be keeping ourselves with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and the upcoming Xbox title / upcoming PC title, Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD-2D Remake, which will be released sometime in 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
