Square Enix has made some buzz with its latest announcement: Dragon Quest 10 Offline is now accessible for mobile gaming, but there’s a catch—it’s all happening in Japan. This single-player version of the beloved MMORPG comes with a special, time-limited discount in the region. Sadly, for Western fans who’ve been longing for a taste of Dragon Quest 10, it looks like the odds of it landing outside of Japan remain slim.
Back when it first hit the scene in Japan in 2012, Dragon Quest 10 was the sole MMORPG in the illustrious Dragon Quest lineup. The game has been adapted for various consoles over the years but has yet to make its way to Western shores—a rarity for a major entry in the series. Fans have been clamoring for a local release since day one, and though the development team occasionally expresses an interest in bringing it stateside, reality has yet to follow suit. Now with the mobile port launch, Western players might want to keep their expectations in check.
According to Gematsu, both Dragon Quest 10 Offline and its expansion, titled The Sleeping Hero and the Guiding Ally, are now playable on iOS and Android devices, but only in Japan for the time being. This stand-alone version of what was once a multiplayer adventure first debuted in Japan in 2022 and has since made its way to other parts of Asia. As of now, the game’s mobile version is temporarily available for 1,960 yen (approximately $13), a price that will rise to 2,800 yen (around $18) by January 28. The expansion is similarly marked down to 1,920 yen (around $12) until then. The offline alternative offers a more manageable map and a simpler visual style compared to its original counterpart.
Originally launched on the Nintendo Wii, Dragon Quest 10 has since appeared on platforms like the Wii U, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PC. The game has gained acclaim with its real-time combat and intricate job mechanics, making it relatively user-friendly for those new to the MMORPG scene. Even a decade after its launch, a fan-made English translation of the game’s story cutscenes popped up in December 2024 as a testament to the continued enthusiasm for this installment. During the Dragon Quest series’ 35th-anniversary festivities in 2021, many were hopeful for an announcement about a Western release, but nothing surfaced.
In Japan, the Dragon Quest series maintains a significant hold on the gaming community. For example, Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age sold an impressive two million physical copies within just two days in 2017. Looking forward, Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is being developed and is poised to offer the first simultaneous global release for a main series game, though details on when it will arrive remain under wraps.
