Square Enix will mark the 40th anniversary of Dragon Quest with a special livestream on May 27, a short presentation set to air on Dragon Quest Day and carry new announcements for the series. The broadcast is scheduled to run for roughly 10 minutes and will stream on YouTube at 6 a.m. PT and 9 a.m. ET.
Yuji Horii, the series creator, said the stream would include news that fans have been waiting for, including an announcement about the next game. He also promised further updates about the franchise at large, giving the event more weight than a routine anniversary check-in. For a series that has remained one of Square Enix’s most durable brands, even a brief livestream is likely to draw attention far beyond Japan.
The timing matters because Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, first announced in 2021 during the series’ 35th anniversary celebrations, still has no release window. Square Enix has already used 2026 to keep the series active, releasing Dragon Quest VII Reimagined and the mobile-exclusive Dragon Quest Smash/Grow, but those projects have not answered the biggest question hanging over the franchise: when the next mainline entry will arrive.
That leaves May 27 as a possible turning point, but not a certainty. The company has said the presentation will include announcements related to Dragon Quest, and the surrounding chatter has pointed to possible updates or remakes, yet nothing beyond Horii’s promise of news about the next game has been confirmed. If the livestream delivers on that hint, it will do what fans have wanted since 2021: move Dragon Quest XII from announcement to something closer to a real roadmap.
What happens next is simple. Square Enix goes live on YouTube on May 27, and the franchise’s 40th anniversary will either bring a long-awaited step forward for Dragon Quest XII or another short reminder that the series is still holding back its biggest reveal.
