Yuji Horii, the creator of DRAGON QUEST, said in an interview looking back on the series’ 40th anniversary that he is now setting his sights on the 50th.

The interview was published on Famitsu, a video game news website. It went up at 12:00 p.m. Japan time on August 9, 2026, which corresponds to August 8 in North America. It appears to be a web republication of a print feature that originally ran in the June 25, 2026 issue of Weekly Famitsu (No. 1951, released June 11) and was created to mark the 40th anniversary of Weekly Famitsu’s founding.

The interview is a lengthy piece spanning multiple sections. It covers behind-the-scenes accounts of the series’ numbered entries, from the first game, released on May 27, 1986, through DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, released on July 29, 2017. It also touches on the third game, released on February 10, 1988, the eighth, released on November 27, 2004, and the tenth, released on August 2, 2012. Topics include how dialogue and maps have been created over the years, what makes a game feel like “DRAGON QUEST,” turning points in Horii’s own life, and his views on trends among today’s younger players.

Asked to sum up the 40 years in a word, Horii answered: “It’s incredible that we’ve been able to keep going all this time — I suppose it just goes to show that perseverance pays off.” The remark reflects on the fact that the series has continued for 40 years since the first game in 1986.

Near the end of the interview, asked about what lies ahead, Horii said: “I’ll do my best as I work toward the 50th anniversary! (laughs) For the 50th, I’d like to try holding some kind of event at Tokyo Dome, too (laughs).” Tokyo Dome is a domed baseball stadium in Tokyo that is also used as a venue for large-scale events. When the interviewer suggested, “There’s a chance the crowd would be too big even for Tokyo Dome,” Horii continued: “Hmm, I wonder… maybe we’d just play a normal game of baseball or something (laughs).”