On September 13, Japanese studio HexaDrive announced it is recruiting staff for Dragon Quest 12 The Flames of Fate - the job listings page launched for the occasion gave us new hints on the development of the JRPG helmed by Square Enix.
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As pointed out by our Japanese peers at 4Gamer, HexaDrive announced on Twitter it's working together with Square Enix on Dragon Quest XII. HexaDrive is a studio of 125 employees as of September 2021, located in Osaka, Japan. Two ex-Capcom employees founded the studio in 2007.
HexaDrive, ex-Devil May Cry devs, reveal involvement with Dragon Quest 12 via job listings
First, we have HexaDrive president and CEO Matsushita Masakazu. He was a programmer who worked on several Capcom arcade games. In the early 2000s, he was also the main programmer on Power Stone 2 on Dreamcast, Devil May Cry 3 on PS2, and Lost Planet on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Secondly, we have director Saitou Yasuyuki, who was also a programmer on Sengoku Basara, Devil May Cry, and most notably on ultra-realistic mecha game Steel Battalion. Released on the original Xbox in 2002, Steel Battalion is famous for its unique controller imitating a cockpit. With dozens of buttons and levers. If you're unfamiliar with the game, I recommend checking its speedrun at RTA in Japan 2020.
HexaDrive worked with Square Enix in the past and was the developer of The 3rd Birthday on PSP. Plus, it also participated in the development of Final Fantasy XV.
HexaDrive is hiring game designers, programmers, and environment artists for Dragon Quest XII The Flames of Fate. This shows the game's development still has a long way to go.
In any case, all of this hints that Dragon Quest XII The Flames of Fate could be leaning towards Action PRG territory. Furthermore, when Dragon Quest XII was announced, series creator Yuji Horii specified the traditional turn-based battle system is getting changed.
More on Dragon Quest XII, predicted platforms
Square Enix announced Dragon Quest 12 The Flames of Fate at the 35th-anniversary stream for the series on May 26, 2021. Be sure to check out our stream summary for a translation of Yuji Horii's comments.
Square Enix did not reveal a release date estimate or platforms for Dragon Quest XII The Fames of Fate yet. But we know it's an Unreal Engine 5 developed game. Moreover, back in 2019, Square Enix also mentioned working on a next-gen Dragon Quest title. Which turned out to be Dragon Quest XII. In other words, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S are the most likely platforms we'll see Dragon Quest 12 on.
What do you guys think and would you like to see a main Dragon Quest game going the Action RPG route? You can always reach me on Twitter for a chat @A_iyane07.