Yuji Horii has all but promised that Dragon Quest’s 40th anniversary stream will unveil the series’ “next title.” Here’s what fans should realistically expect from a Dragon Quest XII showing, why the wait has been so long, and how Square Enix can position The Flames of Fate for modern platforms.
Horii lights the fuse ahead of Dragon Quest’s 40th anniversary
Yuji Horii did not say the words “Dragon Quest XII” on that now-private KosoKoso podcast, but he didn’t really have to. When the creator of the series casually mentions that a May 27 Dragon Quest livestream will announce the “next title/work,” timed precisely with the franchise’s 40th birthday, you do not need to be a Slime scholar to connect the dots.
Nintendo Everything, Polygon and Push Square all circle the same implication. The anniversary stream will be a tentpole moment, with Horii teasing not just one announcement but “various other things.” That could include remakes, spin offs or platform news, yet the shadow looming over everything is Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, a game that has existed publicly as a title card since 2021 and very little more.
Heading into the 40th anniversary, the tension is simple. Fans are desperate for a proper unveiling, and Square Enix has to manage expectations for a project that is clearly still deep in production.
The long silence since the 2021 reveal
Dragon Quest XII was announced during the series’ 35th anniversary broadcast in May 2021 with a stark logo, a promise of a simultaneous worldwide release, and a few tantalizing hints. Horii said the game would run on Unreal Engine 5, offer a darker, more mature story about “choices and consequences,” and feature a reworked command battle system.
Then everything went quiet.
Across 2024 and 2025, a trickle of updates finally confirmed what most fans suspected. The story scenario has been complete for a while. Horii has repeatedly stressed that development is “in full swing” and that he is “putting lots of work into” the game, while outlets like IGN, Shacknews, GameRant and others have relayed that Dragon Quest XII is absolutely not canceled. Instead, Horii has framed the project as something that will be revealed “little by little,” at a slower cadence than some fans would like.
There are understandable reasons for the long gestation. Unreal Engine 5 is a major technological leap for a series that has historically prioritized stable, cross gen art over cutting edge visuals. The team is reportedly working with support studios like HexaDrive and ORCA, which suggests a modern, asset heavy pipeline rather than the relatively modest scope of past entries.
At the same time, Square Enix has been tied up with other Dragon Quest projects. There is the Dragon Quest III HD 2D remake, the newly announced Dragon Quest I & II HD 2D, and persistent evidence that Dragon Quest XI S is being prepped for Nintendo’s next hardware. When Horii talks about “various other things” for the anniversary stream, these are almost certainly part of the package.
The result is a five year gap between name reveal and real showing, a stretch that feels even longer in an era where most large scale RPGs are announced late and marketed in tight, two year windows.
What fans should realistically expect from the anniversary stream
With that context, the 40th anniversary broadcast is unlikely to be a shadow drop of total information. A more realistic scenario is that Dragon Quest XII finally steps out of pure logo land and into something resembling a traditional reveal, but with careful guardrails.
The safest bet is some mixture of the following: a cinematic teaser that establishes tone, a short in engine segment to prove the Unreal Engine 5 upgrade is real, and high level messaging on themes and systems. Horii has been talking about “choices” in combat and story since 2021, and the stream is a natural place to explain what that means without locking in granular mechanics.
Given the emphasis on announcing the “next title/work,” the stream will likely frame Dragon Quest XII as the flagship of a new era, not a project that is about to ship. A concrete release date still feels unlikely. A broad target window, such as “in development for current generation platforms” or something as vague as “coming after 2026,” is much more plausible than a 2026 launch promise.
The other factor is the remake slate. Square Enix has leaned heavily on HD 2D, and Dragon Quest’s early entries are finally getting lavish reimaginings. Expect those to share the stage, both to celebrate history and to keep Nintendo’s next console in the conversation. Dragon Quest XII news will likely be balanced carefully with updates on Dragon Quest I, II and III in HD 2D, plus potential ports of XI S, so that the anniversary feels like an event for the whole fanbase, not just those waiting on the next numbered game.
Why The Flames of Fate is taking so long
From the outside, Dragon Quest XII looks like a long delayed sequel. From the development side, it is probably closer to a reboot of how Dragon Quest is made.
Unreal Engine 5 is central to that story. Modern JRPG production is built on large teams, heavy outsourcing, and the expectation of detailed, physically based environments and lighting. That is very different from Dragon Quest XI’s stylized yet relatively light asset load. Moving to UE5 means building tools, pipelines and expertise that will not just serve XII, but likely future mainline entries and spin offs.
Horii’s insistence on a worldwide simultaneous release is another complicating factor. Dragon Quest has historically been staggered, with Japan getting games years ahead of the West. Writing, recording and testing a huge RPG for multiple languages at once is expensive and time consuming, and Square Enix cannot afford to get that wrong if it wants Dragon Quest to keep growing globally.
There is also the problem of tone. The Flames of Fate has been framed as darker and more serious than usual. That puts extra pressure on narrative, character arcs and choice driven systems. When a series that has built its identity on optimism and tradition starts talking about fate, consequences and a revamped battle system, every design decision becomes politically loaded inside the studio, even if the game itself avoids real world politics.
Add in the fact that Square Enix has publicly shifted strategies after some high profile disappointments and restructuring, and it is easy to see why Dragon Quest XII has likely been given more time and more scrutiny than earlier sequels.
Positioning Dragon Quest for modern platforms
Whenever The Flames of Fate does arrive, it has to serve two masters. It must still be unmistakably Dragon Quest, with Toriyama inspired designs, Koichi Sugiyama’s musical legacy carried forward in some form, and turn based DNA intact. At the same time, it has to prove that one of Japan’s most conservative RPG series can feel at home next to games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Technically, Unreal Engine 5 gives Square Enix a clear path. The expectation in 2026 and beyond will be PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC as baseline platforms, with Nintendo’s Switch successor as a likely partner system once its specs and dev kits line up with UE5 requirements. A generation ago, Dragon Quest might have chosen a single lead platform and treated others as ports. With XII, the likely approach is cross platform from day one, with scalable assets and effects that let the game shine on high end hardware while still feeling at home on a more modest Nintendo device.
Business wise, aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release is crucial. Final Fantasy has become a timed exclusive brand in recent years, often tied deeply to PlayStation. Dragon Quest has an opportunity to position itself differently, as a truly platform agnostic flagship RPG that launches everywhere at once, with PC support from day one and strong localization across Europe, North America and Asia.
The other lever is structure. Dragon Quest XI walked a fine line between classic linear storytelling and modern quality of life features like free camera control, respec systems and flexible difficulty. XII can push that further without discarding tradition. Optional difficulty modifiers, more reactive quest lines and clearer build fantasy in its revamped command battles would help it stand out on modern storefronts where players are used to deep customization.
Square Enix will also be keenly aware of streaming, content creation and social chatter. A darker Dragon Quest with more explicit choices and consequences is inherently more clip friendly and discussion friendly than a purely traditional romp. Expect the marketing to lean into that, using the anniversary stream to start conversations around what a “grown up” Dragon Quest looks like, even if the game itself will still be ESRB friendly.
A tempered forecast for May 27
All of this leads to a measured outlook for the 40th anniversary broadcast. Fans should absolutely expect Dragon Quest XII to finally step into the spotlight. Horii would not be teasing the “next title/work” if the team did not have something to show. At the same time, the long development gap, the engine transition and Square Enix’s recent strategy shifts all point to a reveal that is carefully staged rather than all encompassing.
Realistically, the stream is poised to deliver a first proper look at The Flames of Fate, a reaffirmation that development is in full swing, and a broad statement of platforms and direction, flanked by announcements for HD 2D remakes and ports that celebrate Dragon Quest’s past. That might feel slow for fans who have waited since 2021, but in the context of where the series is heading, it is also the most sustainable way to light the next era of Dragon Quest without burning out before the journey really begins.