Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, the action-RPG inspired by Akira Toriyama's legendary manga series, has become a phenomenon. Ever since its launch in late 2016, the game has steadily sold copies on all platforms, and while it hardly ever topped sales charts it has not slowed down; reaching more than eight million copies sold worldwide. Any other game would probably have a guaranteed sequel, but given the structure of Xenoverse's content and DLC, this poses a challenge for Bandai Namco similar to what Rockstar faces with Grand Theft Auto 5.
In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, players get to live out a fantasy unlike any other DBZ game. Instead of controlling Goku, his friends, and his enemies, they can create their original characters as time warriors of different species and have them fight alongside the main characters. The combat plays out like a modernized version of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, and just like those it features a huge amount of playable characters from throughout the series.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 launched about halfway through the lifespan of the Dragon Ball Super series, but since then the manga has kept going with new stories. There was also the movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and another movie will be coming out in 2022. This means the new transformations, attacks, characters, and powers from late in the series weren't included. Characters such as Zamasu, Kale, Caulifla, Jiren, or the rebooted Broly were all unplayable despite fans growing to like them.
In the past, when something like this happens players could be sure they would get a sequel featuring more content from later in the series. For example, some games only covered up to the Cell saga or ignored Dragon Ball GT because of when they came out, but later characters appeared in future iterations. Most classic Dragon Ball games were released as trilogies, each game featuring more characters than the last. While Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a sequel itself, there isn't the same need for yet another game given Bandai Namco could instead add characters as DLC. That is exactly what it has done with 12 packs so far, which has made the wait for Xenoverse 3 longer than fans are used to.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Is In a Similar Spot as GTA 6
As things stand, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is in a similar camp to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5. These titles have both gotten so big and popular that supporting them makes more sense for their creators, taking advantage of a userbase that loves the games and buys their DLC and microtransactions. Even though fans might want a Xenoverse 3, Bandai Namco is in a position where it has no real reason to rush into development.
An eventual Grand Theft Auto 6 or Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 would be great news for fans of either series, but represent financial risks for Rockstar and Bandai Namco. Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the best-selling games of all time and is among the most played and downloaded games every year. Losing access to the fans who play GTA Online every day should tempt Rockstar to take things slow.
The situation with the eight million players who still enjoy Xenoverse 2 is similar. Bandai Namco would have to sell a new game again and build that userbase back up, when it could instead keep adding DLC characters. The question would be what Bandai Namco could add in terms of gameplay or story that justifies an otherwise unnecessary risk. If anything, a prospective sequel should be something that only the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S could provide.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.