Dragon Quest XII development taking longer due to targeting adult audience

The Dragon Quest series is one of the most popular JRPG franchises of all time, with its roots stretching as far back as 1989. In 2021 the next entry in the series, Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, was officially teased. We have not seen anything from the game since, with the studio now explaining why.

In an interview conducted by Japanese publication ‘denfaminicogamer’ (and translated by NoisyPixel) Dragon Quest’s creator Yuji Horii was asked about the ongoing development of the next mainline entry in the series, saying “there are rumors that the latest title, Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate is about to be released?”

In response, Horii refuted the claims that DQXII is nearing its launch, saying “Mmm, I guess it will take a little while. This time we are making a game directed toward an adult audience, so we are having a lot of trouble (laughs). There was also the Coronavirus pandemic.”

In the past, the Dragon Quest series had seen a new mainline entry release every 3-5 years. With Dragon Quest XI coming out back in 2017, we are already in the largest gap between any mainline DQ entry, lending proof to the idea that the upcoming title is taking longer than usual.

With both gameplay and tonal shifts from previous entries, it makes sense that Dragon Quest XII is taking longer than usual. It will be interesting to see how this new direction is ultimately received by fans of the series.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Dragon Quest? Are you excited for DQXII? What do you think of the tone shift for this new game? Let us know down below.

Become a Patron!