Dragon’s Dogma Online Announced

Thanks to Japanese magazine Famitsu we learn that a new Dragon’s Dogma title, simply titled Dragon’s Dogma Online, is in development. While the Famitsu website (entirely in Japanese) has almost no information, a massive 18-page preview was published in the latest issue of the magazine, and some key pieces of information were translated by NeoGAF moderator Duckroll.

The game is apparently a free-to-play online title with combat and gameplay that closely mirror those of the original PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 title, and will be released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and on PC:

-plays like Dragon’s Dogma
-world/setting/story is all new
-4 player party max (has AI pawn)
-Has big updates planned
-has lobby where you can chat/get party members. Up to 100 people in a lobby
-quick matching is available
-world will get bigger as seasonal updates come up (will be 3 times the original size after updates)
-Jobs include figher, hunter, priest, shield sage and more
-character creation is more extensive than previous games
-Big monsters get “angry” status (stronger attacks)

The director and team currently working on it are the same as the Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen updated re-release, so it doesn’t seem like this is simply a quick attempt to cash in on the name’s popularity in Japan. On the other hand, the fact that this is a free-to-play online title probably means some aspects that had potential to be refined in a sequel, like the quest design and the way it interacted with the core game systems, will probably be further downplayed instead.  I’m also potentially worried about the free-to-play monetization model, as very few title get the balance right without feeling exploitative.

For now, though, Capcom has no plans to bring the title to the West according to what a rep of the company told Eurogamer. This doesn’t necessarily mean the game will never be released in Europe or the United States, and the fact that trademark applications for Dragon’s Dogma Online were filed in Europe and the US means that Capcom is likely at least considering the possibility. Until there is an official announcement, though, we should just assume that the title is Japan-only.