Dragon Quest Celebrates 40th Anniversary by Passing a Huge Milestone

On May 27, 1986, a company called Enix released a game called Dragon Quest in Japan. 40 years later, that company is now Square Enix and Dragon Quest has become one of the most popular and influential RPG series of all time. On this big anniversary, it is only fitting that the series crosses another major sales milestone.

The Dragon Quest X account posted on the morning of Sept. 16 that the series has surpassed 100 million units sold over its entire lifetime. To celebrate, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii shared a special message to fans. "Thank you all so much," Horii said, "As Dragon Quest reaches its 40th anniversary milestone, I'm filled with gratitude that we can share such wonderful news. We'll continue working hard to bring you adventures that fill you with excitement, and I hope you'll continue to support us." He then got to dig into an adorable cake decorated with monsters from the series.

There have been 11 mainline games in the series to date, as well as numerous spin-offs across genres. There are also novels, manga, and anime adaptations. Later this year, Square Enix will release Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World.

When are we getting Dragon Quest 12?

During this year's Dragon Quest 40th anniversary livestream event, Square Enix re-revealed Dragon Quest 12. While the game was originally revealed in 2021 with the subtitle The Flames of Fate, executive producer Yosuke Saito said that work on this version "hit a lot of hurdles along the way" and that the team "decided to move things around and start from scratch." The game is now officially called Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams.

The original reveal hinted that The Flames of Fate would be a much darker spin on the series, but Beyond Dreams has brought Dragon Quest 12's new direction more in line with what fans expect from the series.No further news has been shared since then, and it has no release date or window.