Dragon Quest Creator Assures That Franchise’s Part 12 is in the Works

Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii shared an update on the Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate during a Feb. 8 livestream on his radio show KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku. 

In response to growing fan concerns, Horii reassured viewers that the development team is “working hard” on the game and that new information will be revealed soon.

The update comes after a prolonged period of silence surrounding Dragon Quest XII, which was first announced in 2021 on top of the departure of the game’s lead producer, Yu Miyake, to Square Enix’s mobile division. However, Horii emphatically denied rumors of a cancellation, apologizing for the uncertainty and confirming that work on the game is continuing as planned.

“Development is progressing smoothly,” Horii stated during the livestream. “We hope to share more information with everyone, little by little, as we move forward.”

The game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, with co-development handled by HEXADRIVE and ORCA alongside Square Enix.

The last major entry in the series, Dragon Quest XI, was released in 2017 and, as of December 2024, has sold over 7 million units worldwide across all platforms. Meanwhile, the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake has recently hit 2 million sales, pushing the total number of franchise’s sold copies up to 91 million as of February 2025.