Yuji Horii Vague on Dragon Quest 12 Details, Confirms Hard Work on Sequel

Fans of the iconic Dragon Quest series can breathe a sigh of relief as series creator Yuji Horii has confirmed that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate has not been canceled. This much-anticipated title was first announced during the series' 35th anniversary celebration in 2021, marking it as the first mainline entry since Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age released in 2017. Despite the excitement surrounding the announcement, updates have been scarce, with the last news coming in February when Horii mentioned that the development team at Square Enix was "working hard" and promised information would be released "little by little."

True to his word, there has been a period of complete radio silence since then. However, in a recent interview with Gamereactor, Horii has once again reassured fans that the project remains on track. "Yes, indeed, I can't say anything, I apologize," he stated. "I am making it, putting lots of work into it... I can only say that the next work will be great too, [I'm] working really hard. Please look forward to it is the only thing I can say."

While Horii's update may not be as concrete as a trailer or screenshots, it should provide some comfort to fans who feared the project might have been abandoned amid restructuring at Square Enix and a lack of updates.

In May 2024, Horii also acknowledged the significant losses to the Dragon Quest team with the deaths of character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama. Additionally, the series' lead producer Yu Miyake had already stepped down to head Square Enix's mobile game division, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the project.