Dynasty Warriors maker reveals unmade sequel and Star Wars goals

It’s uncommon {that a} online game collection turns into so well-liked it evokes copycats – however it’s rarer nonetheless that it is so distinctive it kicks off its personal style.

However that is what occurred with Dynasty Warriors, a collection which pioneered the so-called “1 vs 1,000” gameplay, wherein the participant defeats hundreds of enemies in every degree.

All through years of growth – the collection has been going since 1997 on the unique PlayStation – {hardware} limitations meant at its greatest just a few hundred enemies might seem on-screen at anybody time.

However all that’s now altering, with the ability of recent consoles enabling as many as 10,000 opponents on-screen without delay.

In different phrases, the “1 vs 1,000” moniker is lastly coming true.

And with that new energy comes a brand new recreation – after seven years within the wilderness, writer Koei Tecmo is again with Dynasty Warriors: Origins.

All through this era the collection has confronted an issue – regardless of promoting 21 million copies all through its historical past – Dynasty Warriors has at all times bought considerably higher in Japan than within the West.

“It is one thing that we have been making an attempt to get lots of people abroad to play,” the pinnacle of developer Omega Power, Tomohiko Sho, informed the BBC.

However occasions could also be altering, as the discharge of Dynasty Warriors: Origins in January 2025 has seen encouraging gross sales.

Within the UK, it broke the highest 10 of the retail gross sales charts, whereas on-line it was the top-selling recreation on PC retailer Steam – with slightly below 70,000 individuals taking part in the sport on the identical time on launch.

There have been 9 numbered entries within the collection because it started in 1997, culminating in 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

However advances in {hardware} imply Mr Sho believes now could be the time for a sequel.

Although he didn’t name it a reboot, the group has ditched the numbered titles and easily known as the sport Dynasty Warriors: Origins – maybe signalling that the studio believes this can be a turning level for the franchise.

It launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X/S and PC in January 2025, turning into the primary mainline entry within the collection in seven years.

Mr Sho informed the BBC the group had been engaged on a sequel – which might have been known as Dynasty Warriors 10 – however he felt it was just too much like earlier video games, which followers had been “beginning to get a bit bored of”.

As a substitute, the long-awaited recreation was scrapped in an effort to benefit from the brand new {hardware}.

The explanation Dynasty Warriors: Origins seeks to interrupt away from what got here earlier than is straightforward, Mr Sho stated – it was a results of fan response to the final mainline recreation launched within the collection, 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9.

“Both you actually favored it, otherwise you did not,” he stated.

The unreleased sequel was too much like what got here earlier than, he stated, however by the point growth was in full swing, a change within the video games trade in the end halted manufacturing.

Inside two days of one another in November 2020, Sony launched the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft launched the Xbox Sequence X – consoles so highly effective Mr Sho ceased growth to concentrate on the brand new {hardware}.

“The present know-how permits us to have many troops and military officers on the display screen,” he stated.

“That is one thing I have been desirous to do since Dynasty Warriors 2 and three.”

These two video games, which launched on PlayStation 2 again in 2000 and 2001, might at most handle twenty or thirty enemies on-screen without delay.

The brand new {hardware} can handle much more – with PlayStation 5 Professional house owners seeing an excellent larger leap in efficiency.

“We’re capable of have many troops on-screen – not simply hundreds, however tens of hundreds,” Mr Sho stated.

“With the present technology of consoles, we’re in a position to try this.”

However all that energy comes with a price – no multiplayer, which has been a staple of the collection since its PlayStation 2 days.

“I’m very conscious that it’s seen as an iconic a part of the collection,” he stated.

He felt multiplayer would end in a “efficiency loss”, which means fewer enemies on display screen, so he determined towards together with it.

However he stated which will change if the sport got a sequel.

“If everybody actually enjoys the sport, then for the following recreation within the collection, we will certainly have multiplayer,” he stated.

Within the interim years between the discharge of Dynasty Warriors 9 and Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the group has focussed on different issues – particularly spin-offs.

These are variations of the sport, inside the 1 vs 1,000 style, exterior of the primary collection that sometimes function completely different characters – very similar to how the movie franchise Puss in Boots was a spin-off of Shrek.

The corporate has discovered success on this space with video games that includes characters from collection comparable to Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda and Sega’s Persona 5.

Mr Sho stated Dynasty Warriors: Origins was a shift in course because it targeted on efficiency – whereas spin-offs had been about being true to the franchises concerned.

“When the groups had been approaching growth, they weren’t fascinated about the {hardware},” he stated.

“However extra, with Hyrule Warriors and Fireplace Emblem Warriors being on the Swap, how would we be capable to do this greatest as a Warriors recreation?”

He stated Dynasty Warriors’ future was about “getting probably the most” out of present consoles – maybe with much more enemies on display screen.

Although he laughed off the suggestion that maybe the studio ought to take into account collaborating on the last word “spin-off” – a Sonic the Hedgehog recreation.

“I additionally really like Sonic, simply to let you recognize,” he stated.

And Mr Sho stated if he might make any Dynasty Warriors spin-off, there are two collection he is big followers of – Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

“If there’s a probability, I would undoubtedly like to tackle the problem,” he stated.