Dragon Quest 12 Leak Came from Its Own Creator

You don't need dataminers or retailer listings when you've got Yuji Horii. The Dragon Quest creator let slip on a KosoKoso broadcast episode that a livestream is planned for May 27, the franchise's 40th anniversary, and that it will include an announcement about "the next game." The video has since been made private on YouTube, which says a lot about whether this was supposed to be public yet. As Gematsu translated, Horii said: "We'll also have various other things besides the next game, so please look forward to it."

I love that the biggest Dragon Quest leak in years wasn't pulled from a backend server or a misplaced store listing. It came from the 72-year-old godfather of the franchise just casually saying it on camera. Gematsu notes that Horii is "somewhat notorious" for sharing information before it's meant to go public, and honestly, that tracks perfectly. Square Enix hasn't officially confirmed the event, but if the 35th anniversary pattern holds, a formal announcement could come as early as next week; that event was announced exactly two weeks before its broadcast in 2021.

Horii didn't name Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate specifically, but it's hard to imagine what else "the next game" refers to. Dragon Quest 12 was revealed at that 35th anniversary stream five years ago and has been completely silent since. Every other title announced at that event has shipped. Square Enix has filled the gap with HD-2D remakes and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, but a proper new mainline entry hasn't launched since Dragon Quest 11 hit PS4 in Japan back in 2017. Five years of silence after an announcement is a long time, and May 27 feels like the obvious moment to finally break it. If Square Enix was planning a dramatic reveal, Horii just handed it to us three weeks early with a smile.