Why Dynasty Warriors makers scrapped sequel to reinvent series

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a highly anticipated video game that was released worldwide in January 2025. This game is part of a long-running series that has been around since 1997, and it has a unique gameplay style where players can take on thousands of enemies at once. The game is set in ancient China, and players can enjoy beautiful visuals, including cherry blossom trees in the background while they engage in epic battles. Over the years, the series has evolved significantly, and thanks to advancements in technology, players can now experience battles with up to 10,000 enemies on the screen simultaneously. This is a major improvement from earlier games, which could only display a few hundred enemies at a time. The publisher, Koei Tecmo, has been working hard to make the game more popular outside of Japan, especially in Western countries. Tomohiko Sho, the head of the development team at Omega Force, expressed his desire to attract more players from overseas. The release of Dynasty Warriors: Origins has shown promising results, as it quickly climbed the retail sales charts in the UK and became the top-selling game on the PC platform Steam, with nearly 70,000 players online at launch. Mr. Sho shared that the team had initially planned to create a sequel called Dynasty Warriors 10, but they ultimately decided to scrap that idea. He felt that the sequel was too similar to previous games, which might not excite fans anymore. Instead, the team chose to focus on creating a fresh experience that takes full advantage of the new gaming hardware available today. The last main entry in the series was released in 2018, and since then, the team has been brainstorming ways to improve the game. Mr. Sho believes that the current technology allows for a much larger number of characters on the screen, which is something he has wanted to achieve since the earlier games in the series. In the past, games like Dynasty Warriors 2 and 3 could only manage around twenty or thirty enemies on-screen at once, but now, with the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, they can display tens of thousands of enemies. However, this technological leap comes with a trade-off. The new game does not include multiplayer, which has been a staple feature of the series since its early days. Mr. Sho acknowledged that multiplayer is an iconic part of the franchise, but he decided against including it in this installment to maintain performance and ensure that players can enjoy the massive battles without any slowdowns. He mentioned that if players respond positively to this new game, they may consider adding multiplayer in future titles. In the years leading up to the release of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the development team focused on creating spin-off games that featured characters from other popular franchises, such as The Legend of Zelda and Persona 5. Mr. Sho explained that while these spin-offs were enjoyable, the main goal of Dynasty Warriors: Origins was to push the limits of current gaming technology. He is excited about the future of the Dynasty Warriors series and hopes to continue delivering thrilling experiences for players. He even humorously mentioned his interest in creating a spin-off game featuring characters from Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. Overall, Dynasty Warriors: Origins represents a significant evolution for the series, and fans are eager to see what new adventures await them in the future.