JRPG legend Yuji Horii hopes Dragon Quest 12 will be a fitting posthumous work for two beloved developers who passed away

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But there's still not much news to share on the game itself

Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Dragon Quest's creator hopes the upcoming Dragon Quest 12 will hopefully be a fitting posthumous work for two developers who passed away during development.

Yuji Horii has delivered an update on the upcoming Dragon Quest 12, revealing he'd just been in a meeting about the forthcoming RPG. Horii reveals he can't say too much right now, but he hopes that Dragon Quest 12 will be a fitting tribute to two developers who passed away while the game was still in production.

"Everyone, thank you for all the congratulations," Horii's tweet begins, speaking on the recent anniversary of Dragon Quest - May 27, 2024, marked 38 years since the first Dragon Quest was released. "I'm hoping it will be a fitting posthumous work for the two people who have passed away," Horii's tweet further reads, speaking on Dragon Quest 12 itself.

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It's widely assumed that one of the developers Horii is referring to here is legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 68. It's never been confirmed that Toriyama was actually working on Dragon Quest 12 before he passed away, but it's been widely assumed since the Dragon Ball artist has worked on every numbered entry in the RPG series so far.

There's nothing in Horii's actual tweet to indicate that Toriyama is one of the two people he's referring to. All we know is that Dragon Quest 12 will hopefully be a fitting posthumous work for two unnamed developers who passed away at some point since 2021 when the RPG was first announced.

Last month, in April, a report claimed Square Enix was shaking up the Dragon Quest series by removing one key, long-time producer, and potentially replacing them with a veteran Nier producer. This was allegedly due in part to Dragon Quest 12, which has been delayed several times internally, and while the RPG apparently remains far off, Dragon Quest 3's gorgeous HD remake was shown off on the series' anniversary, and it looks like it's not too far off at all.

Square Enix canceled $140 million worth of games earlier this year as it looks to be "more selective."

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.