Yuji Horii: 'Putting Lots of Work' into Dragon Quest 12, But 'Can't Say Anything' Specific

Dragon Quest fans can breathe a sigh of relief as series creator Yuji Horii has confirmed that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is still in development and has not been canceled. The much-anticipated title was announced during the 35th anniversary celebration of the franchise in 2021, marking it as the first mainline entry since 2017's Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Since then, updates have been scarce, with the last news coming from Horii in February, when he mentioned that the development team at Square Enix was "working hard" and promised that information about the game would be released gradually.

True to his word, there has been a period of silence, but Horii has now emerged once more to reassure fans in a recent interview with Gamereactor. He expressed his apologies for the lack of detailed information, saying, "Yes, indeed, I can't say anything, I apologize. 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 not offering concrete details like a trailer or screenshots, this statement should ease the concerns of fans who feared that Dragon Quest 12 might have fallen victim to restructuring at Square Enix and a lack of updates.

In May 2024, Horii acknowledged the significant losses the series faced with the deaths of Dragon Quest character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama. Additionally, the series' lead producer Yu Miyake had already stepped down to take on a new role leading Square Enix's mobile game division. Despite these challenges, Horii's commitment to Dragon Quest 12 remains steadfast, promising fans that the game will be worth the wait.