Yuji Horii, creator of Dragon Quest, promises announcements for the series’ 35th anniversary in 2021

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Numbers first: the first Dragon Quest came out in Japan on May 27, 1986, which put the series’ 35th anniversary in 2021. In early November 2020, creator Yuji Horii used a message to fans to say the date would not pass unnoticed and that Square Enix was preparing several announcements for the celebration. According to Gematsu, he said:

“Next year, Dragon Quest will celebrate its 35th anniversary. I believe we will be able to make all kinds of announcements regarding that. And there is still a lot of fun ahead in Astoltia. Please continue to support Dragon Quest in the future. Thank you very much!”

Translating the reference: Astoltia is the world of Dragon Quest X, the online RPG that was still active in Japan, so part of the message was a direct note to those still playing the MMO. For newcomers, Dragon Quest is one of the most traditional Japanese RPG series, created by Horii with character design by Akira Toriyama and music by Koichi Sugiyama. It helped define the genre on consoles and is a sales phenomenon in Japan. At the time, Square Enix had already confirmed, in June 2019, that Dragon Quest XII was in preparation, and the most recent release in the West was Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition, which would arrive on PS4, Xbox One and PC on December 4, 2020.

What came next

Horii kept his promise. On May 27, 2021, exactly 35 years after the first game, Square Enix held the special anniversary broadcast and revealed three major projects. Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate was officially announced, with Horii promising a darker tone, weightier choices and changes to the traditional turn-based combat. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, in the visual style of Octopath Traveler, and Dragon Quest X Offline, a single-player version of the MMO, were also presented. In practice, X Offline came out in Japan on September 15, 2022, and the Dragon Quest III remake arrived worldwide on November 14, 2024, for PC, Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. In March 2022, the series had already passed 85 million copies sold. As for XII, its development was halted and restarted from scratch, announced on May 27, 2026, and the game re-emerged as Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams.

Source: Gematsu.