Dragon's Dogma 2
A 2024 action RPG sequel set in a parallel fantasy world.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is an action role-playing game from Capcom, released in 2024 as a follow-up to the 2012 original. The story takes place in a fantasy world that runs parallel to the first game. Players control a customizable hero called the Arisen, who is marked by a dragon and must hunt it down. The journey unfolds across an open world, where the Arisen completes quests, gathers equipment, and becomes entangled in a conflict between two kingdoms. Helping them are AI-controlled allies known as Pawns.
The game came out on March 22, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. An expanded version, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026, on those platforms plus the Nintendo Switch 2. Critics gave the game generally positive reviews, and it had sold 4 million copies by November 2025.
**Gameplay**
Played from a third-person perspective, Dragon's Dogma 2 puts the player in the role of the Arisen, a hero chosen by a dragon they must defeat. The player explores the world, takes on quests, fights monsters, and gets caught up in a geopolitical struggle between two kingdoms. The Arisen is supported by Pawns—non-player characters that join the party. These Pawns are controlled by AI but act like player avatars: they help in combat, share information about enemies, and offer guidance on active quests. Players can create and customize both their own Arisen and a personal Pawn, choosing gender, appearance, and race. Two additional Pawns, created by other players, can also be recruited.
Both the Arisen and Pawns operate under a "vocation," a class that determines their combat abilities and equipment, each with strengths and weaknesses. Vocations are split into basic, advanced, and hybrid types, with hybrid vocations available only to the Arisen. Only the Arisen and their main Pawn can change vocations. Several vocations return from the first game, though Strider and Ranger have been replaced by Thief and Archer. New hybrid vocations include the Mystic Spearhand, a variation of the Mystic Knight that wields a bladed quarterstaff called a duospear, and the Trickster, who uses spells to confuse enemies and boost Pawns in battle. Improving a vocation unlocks additional abilities for combat.
The game world is a seamless open map four times larger than the first game's, set in a parallel universe. It is split between two major ki
- Release Date
- March 22, 2024
- Platforms
- PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S
- Developer
- Capcom
- Publisher
- Capcom
- Genre
- Action role-playing
- Director
- Hideaki Itsuno
- Sales
- 4 million units by November 2025
Lore & Background
Dragon's Dogma 2 is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls the Arisen, a hero marked by a dragon, who explores an open world, completes quests, and fights monsters while caught in a geopolitical conflict between two kingdoms. The Arisen is aided by Pawns, non-playable characters that are AI-controlled but function like player avatars, providing combat assistance and quest guidance. Players can customize their own avatar and Pawn, and recruit two additional Pawns created by other players. The game features a vocation system—classes that define abilities and equipment—split into basic, advanced, and hybrid types, with only the Arisen able to access hybrid vocations. Vocations include returning ones from the first game, with Strider and Ranger changed to Thief and Archer, and new hybrid vocations such as Mystic Spearhand and Trickster.
Reader's Guide
Dragon's Dogma 2 was released on March 22, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. A version with additional content, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026, on those platforms plus Nintendo Switch 2. The game received generally positive reviews from critics and sold 4 million units by November 2025. Directed by Hideaki Itsuno, the development focused on improving gameplay mechanics from the predecessor and including features previously cut due to technological limitations. Itsuno noted that the sequel may not include many completely new elements but is more polished and enhanced. The game's significance lies in its expansion of the original's world—four times larger—and its seamless open world split between the kingdoms of Vermund and Battahl, populated by humans, beastrens, and elves. Emergent events, destructible environments, and a day-night cycle affecting creature encounters add depth. The plot involves the Arisen navigating political intrigue, confronting a false Arisen, and ultimately breaking a cyclical dragon-related destiny through a choice that leads to an alternate ending.
Did You Know?
- Dragon's Dogma 2 is set in a parallel world to the first game, with a map four times larger.
- The game sold 4 million units by November 2025.
- A version with additional content, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, will be released on October 9, 2026.
- The game features hybrid vocations like Mystic Spearhand and Trickster, which are only accessible to the Arisen.
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