Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Lead On Honoring Akira Toriyama While Charting The Franchise’s Future

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is shaping up to be a massive expansion of the franchise. While the first two entries in the series became fan-favorite excuses to create your own character and hop across the established canon of Dragon Ball, the upcoming sequel shifts focus to centuries in the future — promising new characters and threats alongside some old favorites. It’s a very exciting development for fans of the series, especially as it also represents some of the last original concepts conceived by franchise creator Akira Toriyama before his passing.

ComicBook got the chance to try out the game at Summer Game Fest 2026, getting a taste for the expanded setting and tightened combat. During a translated conversation with ComicBook.com, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Executive Producer Masayuki Hirano noted the influence that Akira Toriyama had on the game before his passing and revealed just how important having that be a part of the development process has been for him and the rest of the team at Bandai Namco.

CB: One of the things I’m most excited for with Xenoverse 3 is seeing how the game expands the future of Dragon Ball alongside Akira Toriyama‘s ideas. What has it been like to carry on that legacy and vision for the franchise in this way?

Masayuki Hirano: I certainly feel a lot of responsibility, and it’s very important for us to get this right. If you look at the Xenoverse history — Xenoverse 2 held out for 10 years of players. I feel like we built it together in a way. We took in feedback and added new content in response to a lot of players and their voices.

With Xenoverse 3, Toriyama-Sensei left behind an amazing lore of world-building and new characters we’ve never seen before. I feel like it is now our responsibility to elevate and enjoy that world that he has created with the players together again. We hope that Xenoverse 3 will also withstand and endure a long time.

The rest of our interview with Masayuki Hirano continues below, including plans for the future of Xenoverse 3, how it will incorporate fan favorites despite the time-skip, and Toriyama‘s enduring impact on the franchise.

What were some of the biggest lessons that the team took from the first Xenoverse games, and how did they apply them to Xenoverse 3?

With Xenoverse 1 and 2, it was always one of our core concepts to deliver a new Dragon Ball expeirence for fans. With 2, we were fortunately able to endure [a decade] with the fans because there was such strong support. We noticed that fans constantly wanted new experiences that they could feel fit within the Dragon Ball universe. That includes different gameplay elements and new stories. Both games were huge successes. With Xenoverse 3, it’s almost like we’re building that new expeirence with the fans and Toriyama-Sensei.

Given how much content Xenoverse 2 got over the years, is it safe to assume that Xenoverse 3 is expected to have just as much additional content down the line?

I don’t think we expected 2 to be enjoyed for such a long time. It was a good surprise! [Laughter] If you ask me, I have this road map in mind for what 3 might look like. It wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have this symbiotic relationship with the fans, the players, and the community. My hope is that we’ll be able to do everything we can think of and then build that new future and unique experience for Dragon Ball fans.

How did the team find the right balance between new elements of the world and those fan-favorite aspects we always want to see represented?

The backbone of the franchise is these massive battles between aliens and magic. I think the reality is quite open to different layers of things that can happen in this world. You’ve seen characters die and come back. Now we’re fast-forwarding hundreds of years into the future. I think the lore and settings Toriyama-Sensei left us gave us so much to dive into.

There are hints and clues as to why Bulma is linked to this world, which we’ll see more of in the future. We’re aware that fans want to dive into this world. That’s what Xenoverse has always intended to do. It’s supposed to allow players to enter the world and feel like they’re a part of Dragon Ball.

We want to make sure that feeling is still there. We want to make players happy. I think that’s the balance — making sure we’re giving a nod to all those existing iconic characters, but leaving enough room that players still feel like they have entered something massive and have agency over what happens here.

A big part of the previous Xenoverse games was the ability to have your character interact with and learn from established characters. Given the time skip, how will the game reflect those connections to the past?

One of the big themes of Xenoverse is the idea of connection. I feel that connection to this universe and to all the nostalgic, iconic characters. Of course, I want to just converse with them, train with them, and learn their moves. I think that’s been a very strong core pillar of the franchise since the first Xenoverse.

While we can’t go into too much detail at this moment, that is something that we do recognize and want to enhance that experience as much as possible. We want players to get involved with the nostalgic and iconic characters, but also have character progression of their own main character. Look forward to more information.

What has been the biggest surprise of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3?

Since the inception of Xenoverse 3, I think one of the most surprising things has been Toriyama-Sensei’s involvement. It’s hard to fathom how many resources he dedicated to leaving behind these characters and settings and world-building. It changed my perspective on the entire project, not just the development itself. It gave the team and me a renewed sense of responsibility to make this an amazing game. We want to make sure what Toriyama-Sensei left behind serves the fans and the players and creates the best expeirence possible.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is set to launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC sometime in 2027.