In celebration of Dragon Quest's 35th anniversary, a 12th episode in The Flames of Fate was announced alongside a remake of Dragon Quest 3, and updates to Dragon Quest X. Though development details since then have been relatively quiet, several new job listings could hint at the upcoming instalment's shift in genre, alongside possible gameplay elements.
The Flames of Fate will be developed by HexaDrive, with the studio's Osaka, Japan headquarters listing three jobs posts:
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Dragon Quest 12 Could Be Leaning Towards An Action RPG Direction
The descriptions hint at the game's inclusion of RPG elements, with Game Designer detailing more action-specific details:
・Experience developing action games / action RPG games / action adventure games in 3D consumer titles
・Experience in level design for consumer titles
In addition to this, Programmer focuses on the battle sequences that will be present in 12:
<Specific work>
・Add player actions and control actions accordingly
・Enemy thinking (AI) system construction, motion control
・Camera motion control (example: battle, scene, etc.)
・Verification required for battle
It is an image that we will actively cooperate with our level designers to implement the work that follows the above steps.
It's important to consider the experience of HexaDrive's staff, such as their CEO, Matsushita Masakazu, who worked as a programmer for action-combat games like Devil May Cry 3 and Lost Planet. Elsewhere, Game Director Saitou Yasuyuki was a programmer on Steel Battalion and Devil May Cry.
Square Enix previously announced that Dragon Quest 12 would be darker and will revamp the franchise for years to come. These statements, combined with the job descriptions and experience of HexaDrive's staff, seem to back up an action-heavy aim for The Flames of Fate.