Pokemon Go-Like Game Dragon Quest Walk Announced, See The First Trailer

A Pokemon Go-style Dragon Quest game is in the works for release in Japan. Dragon Quest Walk was announced in a recent Square Enix press conference, just ahead of E3 2019, and it's augmented reality-driven experience that involves navigating the real world with your phone. It may even tie into the next mainline DQ game, Dragon Quest XII.

Dragon Quest Walk is launching this year for iOS and Android; you can check out a trailer above. A closed beta test will begin on June 11 for a limited number of users. Right now, Dragon Quest Walk appears to be confirmed only for Japan. It's possible we could hear about international plans during Square Enix's E3 press conference next Monday.

The game's official website, translated by Gematsu, states that in Dragon Quest walk, "everyday life becomes an adventure." You can visit landmarks in the real word to unlock quests, while players can also build a room and decorate it with items they unlock by playing the game.

According to Gematsu, series executive producer Yuu Miyake said during the briefing that Dragon Quest Walk may have some connection to the unannounced Dragon Quest XII in some capacity. "By the way, about Dragon Quest XII, which I'm sure is on everyone's mind--[Yuji] Horii and I are currently making preparations on series developments that will connect to XII. I think it's still too early, but we would like announce it in some form, so please wait a little while longer."

Industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto says Dragon Quest Walk appears to be a "shameless clone" of Niantic's Pokemon Go. Presumably in response to the game's announcement, Square Enix's stock price is up by more than 5 percent in Japan.

Pokemon Go, which uses AR to blend the real and virtual worlds, was released in July 2016 and it became a global phenomenon that continues to be very popular to this day. Niantic followed up Pokemon Go with another similar game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

Another Pokemon Go-style game, Minecraft Earth, is also in development.