Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii has confirmed that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate has not been canceled.

Dragon Quest 12 was announced as part of the series' 35th anniversary celebration in 2021, marking the first mainline installment since 2017's Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Since then, updates have been scarce; the last news came in February, when Horii ended his silence to confirm the Square Enix development team is "working hard" and that game details would be shared "gradually."

And he was true to his word. Since that update, there has been total silence, but in a recent Gamereactor interview, Horii has once again surfaced to reassure fans that development is progressing smoothly.

"Yes, I truly can't share any details at the moment, and I apologize for that," he stated. "I am developing it with immense effort... I can only assure you that the next title will be outstanding, and [I'm] dedicating everything to it. All I can ask is for your anticipation."

While maybe not as reassuring as a trailer or screenshots, this should comfort fans concerned that Square Enix's restructuring and the prolonged silence might have led to Dragon Quest 12's cancellation.

In May 2024, Horii acknowledged the passing of Dragon Quest character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama. By that time, the series' lead producer Yu Miyake had already transitioned to lead Square Enix's mobile gaming division.