Well, here we go again. Square Enix has officially confirmed that Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition is making the jump to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 24, 2026. If you’ve been waiting to dive back into Erdrea on shiny new hardware, the wait is almost over. But before you get too hyped, there’s a catch that’s already got the fanbase grumbling — and honestly, it’s a fair gripe.
This new version is basically a further-tuned port of the same Definitive Edition that landed on the original Switch back in 2019. New console, sharper performance, same incredible JRPG. The problem isn’t the game itself. It’s how Square is handling everyone who already owns it.
Switch 2 Edition Drops September 24 for $39.99
The announcement came during the Dragon Quest 40th anniversary stream on May 27 — which, fun fact, is the exact date the original Dragon Quest launched in Japan back in 1986. The Switch 2 version will run you $39.99, and pre-orders are already live on the Nintendo eShop and through Square Enix’s own store. If you were sleuthing the leaks, you might’ve seen this coming — the Taiwan Ratings Board outed the port about a month before the official reveal.
For your forty bucks you’re getting all the bells and whistles the S version is known for, plus two display options on Switch 2: a graphics mode and a performance mode. So you can pick between eye candy and a smoother frame rate depending on how you like to play. Nice touch, and frankly the kind of choice we should expect from any modern re-release.
What Actually Made the S Version Special
For the newcomers wondering why people care so much: the S edition wasn’t just a lazy port. When it hit Switch in 2019, it piled on extra story chapters for your party members, full Japanese and English voice acting, an entirely separate 2D retro mode, and a stack of quality-of-life improvements. It turned an already brilliant game into arguably the definitive way to experience it. That’s the whole reason this is worth porting forward — the game is genuinely that good.
The Catch: No Upgrade Path and No Save Transfer
Alright, here’s the part that stings. If you already own Dragon Quest XI S on the original Switch, you get nothing in the way of a discount. There’s no upgrade pack, no reduced-price path, no free patch. And it’s not just “not announced yet” — the game’s eShop page flat-out states there are no plans to sell an upgrade pack at all. Ouch.
It gets rougher. Your save data won’t carry over either. So if you sank 80-plus hours into the Switch 1 version and want to replay on Switch 2, you’re starting that whole adventure from scratch. The eShop even slaps a warning on the listing reminding people that you can’t run the Switch 2 release on Switch 1, so be careful which version you actually buy.
To make the salt sting a little more, the physical release isn’t even a proper cartridge — it’s a Game-Key Card, likely because of the game’s chunky file size. So the “physical” copy is mostly just a key that points to a download. Not exactly the collector’s dream.
- No upgrade discount for existing Switch 1 owners — full price across the board.
- No save transfer between the Switch and Switch 2 versions.
- Game-Key Card for the physical release instead of a real cartridge.
- Same price across regions — £34.99 in the UK, with the Switch 1 version currently sitting at half price on sale.
Look, this is sadly on-brand for Square Enix lately. While other publishers are out here offering free next-gen patches or at least a cheap upgrade path, Square keeps asking fans to buy the same game again at full whack. It’s a pattern, and the community has every right to be annoyed about it.
Everything Else From the Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary Stream
The XI S port was far from the only thing Square dropped during the anniversary showcase. There were a couple of genuinely huge reveals that softened the blow.
Dragon Quest 12 Is Now “Beyond Dreams” — And It Restarted Development
The big one: Dragon Quest 12 has been rebooted. Originally announced five years ago as The Flames of Fate with a darker, edgier tone, the game has officially restarted development under a new team structure after hitting what the devs called “a lot of hurdles.” It’s now subtitled Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams, complete with a fresh logo, and it’s ditching the gloomy direction in favor of the bright, colorful vibe the series is famous for.
We got a slice of in-development gameplay footage from Yuji Horii and Yosuke Saito, though no release date yet. Considering we’re now in the longest gap between mainline Dragon Quest games in history — DQ11 came out way back in 2017 — fans are just relieved the thing is still alive and kicking.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World Announced
Square also surprised everyone with a brand-new entry in the creature-collecting spin-off line: Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World. Details are thin — we’ve basically only seen concept art so far — but it stars Bianca and Nera, the iconic heroines from Dragon Quest V: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride. It’s headed to PC, PS5, both Switch 1 and Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S, and Square is hoping it’ll actually launch before DQ12.
On top of all that, Square confirmed the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake have now sold a combined 4 million copies. So the series is in fine health commercially, even if the upgrade-path situation leaves a sour taste.
Should You Buy It?
If you’ve never played Dragon Quest XI, this is an easy yes — it’s one of the best JRPGs of its generation and the Switch 2 version will run beautifully. If you already own it on Switch 1, though? That’s a tougher call. Paying full price again with zero save carryover is a hard sell, and plenty of folks are saying they’ll either stick with their existing copy, grab it on a future discount, or just play the PC version with mods. Totally valid. Maybe wait for a sale and let Square sweat a little.
Either way, September 24 is the date to circle. Just make sure you’re tapping the right version on the eShop.
For more gaming news, check out our coverage of Bungie’s plans to end Destiny 2 support in June 2026, the wild story of Pokemon TCG thieves arrested over a $213K Tokyo van heist, the Elder Scrolls-flavored RPG Fatekeeper hitting Steam Early Access on June 2, and the Warzone shutdown on PS4 and Xbox One tied to Modern Warfare 4.
