is a 2012 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. First released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, an enhanced version subtitled Dark Arisen was later released for the same consoles in 2013, with ports being released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in the ensuing years. Set in Gransys, a high fantasy world inspired by Sicily, the player takes on the role of a human protagonist dubbed the Arisen on a quest to defeat the dragon Grigori, a being said to herald the world's end, while uncovering a deeper conspiracy along the way.
The gameplay focuses on the Arisen—a customizable avatar—exploring Gransys completing quests and fighting monsters in real-time combat. The protagonist is accompanied by Pawns, characters who provide combat support and advice; the protagonist has one customized Pawn, and two additional Pawns either pre-set within the game or other customized Pawns shared by other players through an online lobby. Both standard combat and boss battles involve grappling with or climbing on enemies.
Dragon's Dogma was conceptualized by director Hideaki Itsuno in 2000. The project was successfully pitched and production began in 2008. The 150-strong staff, who had previously worked on Capcom franchises such as Street Fighter, Breath of Fire, and Devil May Cry, took inspiration from Devil May Cry. The music, led by Tadayoshi Makino and including contributions from Israeli-American composer Inon Zur, used a full orchestra and focused on ambiance. Dark Arisen was designed to incorporate fan feedback and offer a complete experience for both old and new players.
Dragon's Dogma received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay, but generally criticized the narrative for being lacking. The original game and Dark Arisen had sold 9.4 million units by December 2025. A Japan-exclusive MMORPG, Dragon's Dogma Online, was released in 2015. An animated series was released on Netflix in 2020. A sequel, Dragon's Dogma 2, was released in 2024.
Gameplay
Dragon's Dogma is an action role-playing game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The player can select between various vocations: Fighter, Strider, Mage, Warrior, Ranger, Sorcerer, Mystic Knight, Assassin and Magic Archer. Gender choice and appearance settings are also available. The vocation, or class system, changes gameplay and tactical options available to the player. For example, the Fighter has abilities that focus on hack and slash combat and the Strider is skilled at climbing large enemies. The game was designed to be playable even by those who are not skilled at action games.
One of the game's main innovations is the "pawn" system. While the player's party is exploring the world, the three party members who accompany the main character are controlled by artificial intelligence, but the player can issue orders to them, including "go", "help" and "come". One of the party members is a non-playable character (NPC) and belongs to the main character's world, while the other two party members are NPCs borrowed from other players by connecting online or are locally generated by the game. The party members, referred to as pawns, can talk, seek the main character's help, and provide information about enemies. The player must work on strengthening the main character and the party members. The pawns are vocal, yelling out useful hints and strategies, which are often vitally important to surviving tough boss encounters and dungeons. The pawn system also features social networking features.
The game features a "grab" action, where the main character can grab or cling to enemies, objects, or NPCs. The player can use this feature for more advanced attacks. For example, the main character can either grab onto a griffin's legs and attack it directly, or climb up to reach its head for a more lethal blow. "In a lot of action games, with big enemies the tendency is just to have you hacking away at the shins. You don't get the full effect of fighting a giant boss," Hideaki Itsuno, the director of Dragon's Dogma, said. "With this game, you can climb all over it. If it has a body part, you can attack it."
The game's large open world environments have drawn comparisons to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In addition to the large open world, Dragon's Dogma features a large city environment with over 200 non-player characters (NPCs) who move about according to their schedules. The player can communicate with the residents in full voice. The game also features a persistent world with a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle.
The game's hack and slash combat elements have been compared to their own Devil May Cry series and Dark Souls. Some of the fantasy elements are reminiscent of Breath of Fire, and the combat and party systems have been compared to Monster Hunter.
Multiplayer Although Dragon's Dogma does not feature a direct multiplayer mode, the developers have revealed that players can compete online with asynchronous encounters called Events via Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. One such event includes the 'Ur-Dragon' in which the effect of each party's attacks will be combined until the Ur-Dragon finally falls. Players that deal the fatal blow will receive the maximum reward, but all players can still obtain both common and rare items dropped by the Ur-Dragon when they inflict damage.
Plot The game opens with a group led by a knight named Savan nearing the end of a quest to defeat the Dragon, a being that signals the end of days. An unknown time later in the present-day Duchy of Gransys, the protagonist's village of Cassardis is attacked by the newly-arrived Dragon. When the protagonist attacks the Dragon, the Dragon takes their heart. The protagonist remains alive after this, marking them as the "Arisen", a figure destined to face the Dragon and stop the coming apocalypse; the Arisen is served by Pawns, human-like beings who live to fight the Dragon, and the Arisen creates a new Pawn shortly after beginning their quest. Heading to a nearby encampment, the protagonist defends an encampment of soldiers from a Hydra attack, taking one of its heads before driving it back; this is witnessed by Mercedes Marten, a soldier sent from a neighboring nation to support Gransys's Duke Edmun Dragonsbane against the Dragon.
Mercedes helps the Arisen escort the Hydra head to the Duke's capital of Gran Soren; upon completing quests for the local Wyrm Hunter guild, the Arisen is granted an audience with the Duke, who has held the position for over a century without aging after claiming victory against the Dragon. During their quest, the Arisen finds aid from a former Arisen dubbed the Dragonforged; investigates an underground tower dubbed the Everfall by the local Pawn guild; confronts Salvation, a nihilistic cult led by a man named Elysion that seeks the Dragon's victory; and learns of Mercedes's role as a token ally as other nations have come to fear Gransys becoming too powerful should the Duke defeat a second Dragon. The Arisen eventually confronts Elysion, who turns his followers into undead to kill the Arisen. The Arisen defeats them, but the Dragon arrives and kills Elysion. The Dragon challenges the Arisen to find him and stop the apocalypse. Confronting the Dragon, the Dragon offers the Arisen a choice; fight and kill it, or sacrifice their beloved—a character the Arisen has grown close to during the game—in exchange for replacing the Duke as ruler of Gransys, the same bargain the Duke took when he faced the Dragon.
Upon defeating the Dragon, the Arisen and all those connected to the Dragon—including the Duke and the Dragonforged—lose their immortality, and the Everfall becomes a bottomless pit that swallows part of Gran Soren. Returning to Gran Soren, the Arisen is attacked by the aged Duke and flees upon being accused of cursing him. While fleeing, the Arisen and their Pawns are swallowed by the Everfall. Passing into a higher plane after opening a portal within the Everfall, the Arisen faces the Seneschal, the being which sustains the world and the current form of the knight Savan. The Arisen is offered a choice: fight the Seneschal or return to Gransys and live a quiet life. Should the Arisen lose the fight with the Seneschal, they are reborn as the next Dragon. Besting the Seneschal results in the Arisen taking their place, unable to interact with the world below. The Arisen then kills themselves to break the cycle, falling back towards Gransys with their Pawn. The game ends with the Pawn awakening within the Arisen's body in their village to be met by their beloved.
Development The concept for Dragon's Dogma was created by Hideaki Itsuno. He created the initial concepts of an RPG title and the Pawn system in 2000 before he was brought on board the staff of Devil May Cry 2. Itsuno had a chance to pitch the project in 2008 following the completion of Devil May Cry 4. With internal discussions going on about Capcom's next large-scale project, the company had asked for a concept that could potentially sell one million copies. Dragon's Dogma was one of seven pitches given by Itsuno. The main concept was an RPG based primarily on single-player but with casual multiplayer elements similar to watching a bulletin board system. The Pawn system and its Western RPG-styled formed part of the pitch. Itsuno's decision to pitch the project was due to the advances in gaming hardware, which had become powerful enough to properly realize the game.
At the time Dragon's Dogma was pitched, social mobile games with features similar to the Pawn system had yet to take off in Japan, and it was before the popularity of hardcore action RPGs such as Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. It was also the first time an open world had been proposed for a Capcom title. Due to these factors, there was initial resistance and scepticism from Capcom executives. Capcom eventually approved the project after Itsuno scaled down his initial proposal to fit within the projected budget and development resources. Development of the game lasted three years including early concept development, with the 150-strong staff being mostly carried over from Devil May Cry 4. Including external staff, the development team was over 200 people. As with other large-scale Capcom projects, the development team was divided into units with specific tasks, allowing production to be streamlined without compromising the project as a whole.
Scenario and art design The scenario and script were written by Haruo Murata. Brought on board the project during development, he was favorably impressed by an early demo of a Cyclops battle. He was in charge of writing the main scenario and dialogue interactions, with his main aim being to create a setting that would react to playing actions in a "natural" way. The globe is inspired by Sicily with its Mediterranean appearance and Greco-Roman and Western medieval cultural traits. The world design and basic scenario were created by Makoto Ikehara, a veteran of the Breath of Fire series. He was not involved in the later parts of production, but he was able to bring knowledge of both fantasy settings and role-playing mechanics to the team. Another contributor to the scenario was Bingo Morihashi, who had previously worked on the scripts on the Devil May Cry series since Devil May Cry 2 and BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. Itsuno cited multiple inspirations for the world of Dragon's Dogma, including The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons and The Neverending Story. To research the setting, the team made several trips to Europe to research its scenery and architecture. The game's title evoked both the Dragon's key role and how the Dragon taught the protagonist—and by extension the player—about the world.