Square Enix Tells Fans to Wait: Dragon Quest 12 Development Questions Dodged

Square Enix used its latest investor call to dodge a direct question about why Dragon Quest 12 was rebooted after a troubled development cycle, telling listeners to “wait a little longer” for meaningful updates on the game’s next steps.

Square Enix Masterfully Avoids Question About Dragon Quest 12’s Troubled Development

It Wants To Share Updates At A Time That Makes “The Most Sense”

A questioner pushed Square Enix during its annual shareholder meeting about Dragon Quest 12, specifically calling out the fact that the project was rebooted—highlighting both the game’s rough development history and the unexpectedly sharp change in tone. The prompt also referenced how Square Enix had effectively “wasted” the development spending tied to the earlier version, The Flames of Fate, before moving to the current direction, Beyond Dreams.

That tone shift has been one of the most striking talking points for the project, especially given how quickly fans can go from excitement to confusion when major announcements start stacking up. Square Enix has been rolling out large reveals recently, and the company’s latest comments landed right in the middle of that attention cycle.

In its response, Square Enix addressed the rationale behind the move away from The Flames of Fate toward Beyond Dreams by framing it as a strategy for creating a “ripple effect” from a game aimed at a particular audience. The company then expanded on why it doesn’t share more specifics immediately, noting that major announcements can have a “major impact” on the business—and that it prefers to publish updates when it makes “the most sense” from a marketing perspective and “ultimately contributes to our earnings”.

Square Enix also reiterated that fans will need to “wait a little while longer” to hear about the timing for Beyond Dreams. While that doesn’t provide a date, it at least suggests the next update isn’t expected to be years away.

What’s notable here is what Square Enix didn’t answer. The company sidestepped the very specific request about what went wrong during Dragon Quest 12 that forced such a complete restart. At this point, the only concrete detail offered publicly is that there were “hurdles,” and there’s no clear sign Square Enix intends to go deeper on the cause any time soon.

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