Will There Be A Dragon’s Dogma 3? How DD2’s Story Sets Up A Sequel

Summary Dragon's Dogma 2's success hints at a potential sequel due to strong sales and a loyal fan base.

The game series shows potential for longevity, like Resident Evil, with cyclical themes and story possibilities.

Capcom's past track record and DD2's setup suggest that DD3 could offer new features and different settings.

Capcom has been producing hit after hit with its many franchises, the latest of which has been Dragon's Dogma 2. Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter have all received new titles in the last five years, and all have been hits, to the point where the Japanese game company decided to make a sequel to its 2011 cult classic, leading to DD2. The game has been a huge success, selling 2.5 million copies in around a week, which has led some to speculate about the possibility for a sequel.

Dragon's Dogma as a series has eclipsed 10 million total sales, and RPGs have always been popular throughout gaming's history, so there's no reason to believe the franchise won't enjoy continued success. Even after almost twelve years from the launch of Dragon's Dogma 1, the series' fans still turned up in droves for the latest entry. Story-wise, there are also places where Capcom could take a hypothetical sequel, given how the developers ended their newest game.

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RPGs Are Eternal

Fantasy Has Been A Popular Genre

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RPGs have always been popular, even before being introduced to a digital medium. From Dungeon's and Dragons to Chrono Trigger and The Witcher 3, this genre in gaming has shown that it is here to stay, especially in a medieval fantasy setting. Dragon's Dogma fills a niche that Capcom otherwise wouldn't have. Its closest franchise to a medieval fantasy RPG would be Monster Hunter, but that series has formed its own kind of genre and lacks the questing, wandering and build progression that gamers associate with modern RPGs.

It isn't as though Capcom doesn't know how to manage long-standing franchises, either. Who's to say that Dragon's Dogma will stop at three entries, and not continue onto figurative eternity like other titles, such as Resident Evil? It is on the cards, especially given the cyclical themes and plot of the series. In theory, as long as the game itself can make the idea feel fresh, the basic premise could remain the same from title to title, like with the Mario series.

Hideaki Itsuno is the director of Dragon's Dogma. He also directed several other Capcom titles, including Devil May Cry 2 - 5. His early work with Street Fighter in the 90s shows his love for action games, an element that has been heavily praised in DD2.

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[Warning! Spoilers ahead for Dragon's Dogma 2's story.]

How Dragon's Dogma 2 Sets Up DD3

Breaking Out Of The Cycle

Dragon's Dogma 2 is not a traditional sequel. Realistically, it is more like a soft reboot, doing what its predecessor did but with greater polish and superior resources. No characters return from the first game in the series, nor are any events acknowledged, other than that there is a cycle between the villainous Dragon and the Arisen. Even story beats are identical in places, such as the Dragon kidnapping the player's romance option or the highest affinity NPC.

DD3 could continue this theme, making each title in the series another confrontation between the Arisen and the Dragon, like how Link is always reincarnated to fight a version of Ganon in the Zelda games. This would only apply to the good and bad endings of Dragon's Dogma 2, however, as the true ending revolves around breaking the cycle. This allows Capcom to take the series in a completely different direction, should it wish to carry on a narrative across several games.

It would be difficult to make this metaphorical sequel feel like Dragon's Dogma, and there are ways of keeping the status quo while also letting the true ending be, well, the true ending.

In the game's true ending, the Brine, a mysterious phenomenon preventing swimming and distant seafaring, vanishes once the cycle of the Dragon and Arisen is broken. This means that the people of Vermund and Battahl can finally travel across the ocean and discover new worlds. Perhaps seafaring and discovering new lands could be the crux of the next title, or one of these lands could provide DD3 with a unique, new setting? Exploration is already a huge part of Dragon's Dogma 2, after all.

What Can Be Expected From The Third Entry?

The Waters Are Clear

Assuming that it is happening, there are a lot of places DD3 could go. With people able to sail in the world, sea travel could be one of the title's big features, traveling from island to island with an Arisen as captain alongside a crew of Pawns. Maybe swimming will even be allowed for the first time, although that is assuming that the true ending is the one Capcom chose to run with when making the next installment. There's even a chance that DD3 is a prequel rather than a sequel.

Should the true ending be upheld, the cycle be broken, and Pawns are given free will, the next title in the series will end up being very different, tonally. The shift could be similar to what FromSoftware did between Dark Souls 1 & 2, creating a sequel that feels vastly different from its predecessor in a completely separate land. It would be difficult to make this metaphorical sequel feel like Dragon's Dogma, and there are ways of keeping the status quo while also letting the true ending be, well, the true ending.

Utilizing a parallel world is always an option for Capcom, ensuring that the cycle can continue for the next world while also allowing it to end in the realm of Dragon's Dogma 2. Making a prequel would also allow for this as well, since prior cycles between the Dragon and Arisen have been hinted at. One such example is Lamond, the Warfarer Maister, who states that he was a failed Arisen who was unable to slay his dragon. This way, DD3 can continue to feel like the Dragon's Dogma, which earned a loyal cult following.

Like other Capcom titles, Dragon's Dogma 2 uses the RE Engine, a powerful game engine originally developed for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The engine was used previously by DD2's director when he worked on Devil May Cry 5.

Related Dragon's Dogma 2 Player Discovers Secret To Unlocking New Areas A Dragon's Dogma 2 player sets the game's community on fire by sharing their discovery on how to unlock secret locations in the open world.

So, Should There Be A Dragon's Dogma 3?

There's A Good Chance There Will Be Either Way

Custom Image created by Debanjana Chowdhury

There isn't any reason for Capcom not to make DD3. It continues to sell well, meaning that there is a financial incentive for it. There is clearly a desire from the developers to work on the series, given that it continued after 12 long years, and Dragon's Dogma 2 has done the groundwork to set up its successor. Capcom nurtures its franchises well, and it could have another golden goose on its hands with its fantasy RPG.

There are still plenty of things that could be added to DD3, too. Elves becoming playable would be a nice addition since they technically aren't (even if the player can give their Arisen pointy ears and teach their Pawn elvish). More vocations and enemy variety would be excellent, too, since some enemies, such as the Sphinx, have clearly had a lot of creativity put into them in Dragon's Dogma 2. Should Capcom continue to support Dragon's Dogma, they could have an RPG giant in their roster, held in regard next to iconic game franchises like The Witcher and The Elder Scrolls.