Overview
- Square Enix announced on May 27 that the project first revealed in 2021 has been scrapped and restarted from scratch under the new title Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams.
- Executive producer Yosuke Saito said a team reshuffle and development hurdles prompted the restart, and series creator Yuji Horii confirmed the game has moved in a different, less dark direction.
- A short teaser shown during the presentation offered the first footage of the rebooted game and introduced a protagonist who is 'beset by strange visions in their sleep,' but no platforms or release window were given.
- To fill the gap before the mainline release, Square Enix also announced Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World as 'coming soon' across multiple platforms and a Nintendo Switch 2 release of Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition on Sept. 24, 2026.
- The change reflects wider trends at Square Enix of using remakes and spin‑offs to sustain the franchise while flagship projects reset, and the company confirmed the new game will continue to use Akira Toriyama’s character art and Koichi Sugiyama’s music.