In case you missed it, there’s a new Dragon Ball game coming and it’s not something you would expect. Inspired by asymmetrical multiplayer titles, Dragon Ball: The Breakers sees players competing in a different type of experience that’s part fighting part survival, but all Dragon Ball.

Late last year, a closed beta test was held and during this time, we got the opportunity to ask a few questions to the producer of the game, Ryosuke Hara, about the plans for the game leading up to release and beyond.

Hara couldn’t detail much in terms of future content coming to the game but did reveal that the team was hard at work taking stock of the feedback from the closed beta and prioritizing balancing fixes to provide a more engaging experience. Hara also mentioned that the game currently does not have plans for cross-platform play at this point but will continue to listen to player feedback to ensure a fun experience.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers Interview – Ryosuke Hara (Producer)

Developing a Dragon Ball game with this genre in mind is quite a combination that not many people expected. What kind of conversations did the team have when discussing the idea for the game and how did the team agree on this final concept?

RH: In the titles we have produced in the past, we have striven to express the unique essence of the Dragon Ball world in a wide variety of genres. The key concept for this title was the “overwhelming strategical imbalance” found in the Dragon Ball universe, and the excitement that mismatched competition can engender. This is why we chose to develop an asymmetric action game. There is so much more to the world of Dragon Ball than simply fighting; we are aiming to express to our users the true depths of the Dragon Ball universe in a unique manner and provide them with a brand-new gaming experience.

Because this is a new genre that the team is trying to get into, did you encounter any specific challenges with making it? Perhaps with balancing or maybe integrating the trademark Dragon Ball features like Shenron and the fast-paced combat?

RH: The biggest challenge was the one that faces the developer of any asymmetric game and involved refining the balance between the two sides: Raider and Survivors. This title, in particular, features ordinary people on one side against superpower-wielding villains from the Dragon Ball universe on the other. Our greatest challenge was how to express this strategical imbalance at the heart of the Dragon Ball story and apply this to a multiplayer game system.

Asymmetrical multiplayer games such as The Breakers rely heavily on constant updates and content drops to keep the player base involved. Can you give us a sneak peek at what type of content players can look forward to post-launch? What’s the content roadmap looking like?

RH: While I am not free to provide any concrete details at this point, we certainly intend to implement measures that will keep players engaged with the game over the long term.

Do you have plans to add other iconic Dragon Ball characters to the game? or maybe crossovers with other Bandai Namco properties?

RH: Additional characters will be announced at a later date, so please stay tuned. In terms of crossovers, this title shares the same game world as “Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2,” and save data can be carried across between these two games.

After the closed beta test, I can imagine that your team has received a fair amount of feedback to work on. Can you give us some examples on what the high priority items the team is working on at the moment that players can expect to be fixed or added into the game based on the feedback?

RH: First of all, we are extremely grateful to all the users who provided us with their opinions following the beta test. Thank you all so much! All feedback was extremely valuable, but, in particular, a significant number of users provided suggestions regarding the game balance between Raider and Survivors, objective displays and controllability, and improvements in Raider priorities. Considerations of this feedback and adjustments in these areas are ongoing as we speak, and we look forward to announcing their details publicly once new developments have been confirmed.

Will the game have an evolving world or maybe even in-game events that focus on moving the “story” of the game forward? Similar to other games that are building a “universe” of sorts.

RH: Details regarding this issue will be released at a later date.

Games like this rely on a healthy player base across various platforms to succeed. Will you be offering some sort of cross-play or cross-progression system to the game when it launches, allowing players from different platforms to play with each other?

RH: There are no plans for cross-platform play at this time. As you said, however, the success of a title such as this depends greatly on the engagement of a healthy player base and the development of a robust community in support of the game. With that in mind, we will continue to listen to feedback provided by our users both before and after release and refine the game as a collaborative effort between the development team and the fanbase.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers is scheduled for a 2022 release for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC.