Capcom is no doubt having much success over its latest titles, with Monster Hunter Wilds taking the world by storm. Recently, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom’s biggest RPG for 2024 had its anniversary, and with Capcom’s success, fans were expecting perhaps an expansion. However, the Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s anniversary turned out to be a fizzle, with Capcom celebrating it with a mere PNG image frame.
The announcement came from the official Dragon’s Dogma 2 page on X/Twitter, with a link to the official website. Capcom has thanked its players for the game’s first anniversary with one aforementioned complimentary frame style. While the reward was generally welcome, some players felt rather disappointed by Capcom’s lack of enthusiasm (or even effort) for Dragon’s Dogma 2.
One of the most well-liked comments on the X thread complains about the absence of announcements or a roadmap for expansions, DLCs, or updates. It appears the general consensus with Dragon’s Dogma 2 was that the 2nd half of the game felt unfinished or rushed and perhaps needed more refinements or content.
The disappointed fan sentiment could be warranted, however, when you consider the fact that the first Dragon’s Dogma game became vastly popular with its expansion, Dark Arisen. Many of the franchise’s loyal fans expected the same treatment for Dragon’s Dogma 2, especially for its anniversary.
Now, however, Capcom has more or less abandoned Dragon’s Dogma 2 likely to focus its efforts and resources on Monster Hunter Wilds. It’s nothing new, of course, as Monster Hunter games starting from World have gotten the live-service treatment from Capcom with multiple IP collaborations to boot.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 was Also Abandoned by Its Creator
It’s also worth noting that Dragon’s Dogma 2 has been abandoned by its creator long before Capcom started ignoring the franchise’s future. Hideaki Itsuno left Capcom in August 2024, just a few months after Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s launch. And with him, the hope for more of Dragon’s Dogma in the future has become faint.
That isn’t to say Dragon’s Dogma 2 was unsuccessful. In fact, it managed to sell 3 million units less than three months after release. It’s a smaller number compared to Monster Hunter Wilds, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 performed relatively well for a cult-classic RPG and a belated sequel.
Granted, it might be too early to say that Capcom has practically abandoned the franchise. The time to create single-player open-world RPGs and their expansions has supposedly increased. So while Dragon’s Dogma’s Dark Arisen expansion took only one year to be released, that same expectation shouldn’t apply to Dragon’s Dogma 2. Elden Ring, for example, took its sweet time of two years for its expansion.
