Square Enix has confirmed that the Dragon Quest franchise has now surpassed 100 million units sold worldwide. The milestone comes in 2026, the same year the long-running JRPG series celebrates its 40th anniversary.
The figure covers the franchise as a whole, rather than a single game. Dragon Quest has grown from its original 1986 release into a series that includes mainline games, spin-offs, remakes and other projects across several generations of hardware.
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii marked the occasion with a short video thanking players for supporting the series over the years.
A milestone reached in Dragon Quest's 40th year
The timing makes the number particularly notable. The original Dragon Quest launched in Japan in 1986, meaning the series has now spent four decades building its audience.
Recent releases have also kept the name in the spotlight. The franchise has received several remakes in recent years, including Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, while more Dragon Quest projects are still in development.
Square Enix's previous company information listed Dragon Quest at more than 88 million units sold worldwide, making the jump beyond 100 million a substantial increase from the earlier figure.
One we probably underestimated
There is also a funny bit of hindsight for us at Mastanet. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World was actually one of the games we considered for our personal list of games we were looking forward to in 2026, but we ultimately left it out.
At the time, the colourful style of Dragon Quest made us think the series might be aimed more at a younger audience than the games we normally highlight. Looking at the franchise passing 100 million sales, it's fair to say we may have underestimated its appeal.
Of course, our 2026 YouTube video is already online, so we can't exactly go back and sneak Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World into the list now. 😅
Still, reaching 100 million sales is a pretty good reminder that Dragon Quest is a much bigger franchise than we gave it credit for.
Want to see which games we did pick for our personal 2026 list? You can watch the original video below.
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Webmastahhh is the creator of Mastanet, a gaming and technology website where he shares news, reviews, guides and personal insights about games, hardware, software and the future of digital entertainment.
