New Dragon Ball Game Announcement Coming January 2026

🐉💥A New Dragon Ball Game is Coming: What to Expect From the January 2026 Reveal 🗓️✨

Mark your calendars and gather your Senzu Beans, warriors. The official channels have spoken: a brand-new Dragon Ball game will be unveiled in January 2026. This isn't a rumor or a leak; this is a deliberate, strategic announcement from Bandai Namco designed to dominate the start of the new year and set the stage for the next era of virtual Dragon Ball combat.

For experts like me who have chronicled the evolution of this franchise from sprite-based brawlers to the cinematic mastery of Dragon Ball FighterZ and the sprawling RPG worlds of the Xenoverse series, this timing is everything. It creates a year-long hype cycle, giving the developers ample time to polish and the community ample time to theorize.

This is your definitive pre-reveal breakdown. We're exploring the likely candidates, the potential genres, and what this announcement tells us about the future of Dragon Ball in gaming.

By the Numbers: The Dragon Ball Juggernaut 📊

To understand the weight of this announcement, you must first appreciate the scale of the Dragon Ball gaming empire.

· The Dragon Ball video game franchise has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.

· Dragon Ball FighterZ alone sold over 10 million copies and became a mainstay in the competitive fighting game scene (EVO).

· The hashtag #DragonBallGame on social media regularly generates over 1 million impressions for even minor news, with a major reveal like this poised to shatter that record.

A new game isn't just a release; it's a cultural moment that unites anime fans, fighting game enthusiasts, and casual gamers alike.

The Contenders: What Could This Game Be? 🥊

Based on development cycles, community demand, and logical next steps, three possibilities stand out.

1. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 (The Safe Bet)

· Why It's Likely: The Xenoverse series is the modern cash cow. Xenoverse 2 has enjoyed an incredibly long tail with steady DLC support for years. The demand for a true next-gen sequel with an expanded hub world, new original story, and deeper CaC (Create-a-Character) customization is at an all-time high.

· The Pitch: "Forge your own path in the largest Dragon Ball universe ever created. Protect the timeline across new, explosive sagas."

2. Dragon Ball FighterZ 2 (The Competitive Dream)

· Why It's Likely: FighterZ was a critical and commercial masterpiece. A sequel built from the ground up for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC could refine the already-perfect combat, introduce rollback netcode for flawless online play, and feature a brand-new roster drawing from the Dragon Ball Super manga arcs (Moro, Granolah, Ultra Instinct Goku, Ultra Ego Vegeta).

· The Pitch: "The acclaimed fighting game returns. Higher fidelity, fiercer combat, and the next generation of Dragon Ball warriors."

3. A Brand New AAA Action RPG (The Bold New Frontier)

· Why It's Likely: The success of Kakarot proved there's a massive audience for a story-driven, single-player Dragon Ball experience. The next logical step is a fully original, open-world Action RPG that isn't a retelling of the anime, but a new story with a new protagonist, developed by a top-tier studio like CyberConnect2.

· The Pitch: "For the first time, create your own Saiyan and write your own legend in a vast, unexplored corner of the Dragon Ball universe."

The Strategic Timing: Why January 2026? 🗓️

This reveal date is a masterstroke.

· Post-Holiday News Drought: January is typically a quiet month for gaming news. A massive Dragon Ball reveal would own the entire news cycle for weeks, with no competing AAA announcements to steal its thunder.

· A Full Year of Hype: An early 2026 reveal suggests a late 2026 or early 2027 release. This gives Bandai Namco a full year to drip-feed trailers, character reveals, and gameplay deep dives, building anticipation to a fever pitch.

· Next-Gen Focus: By 2026, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be the undisputed standard. This game will be designed to fully leverage that hardware, free from the constraints of the previous generation.

What to Look for in the Reveal Trailer 🔍

When the trailer drops, watch for these clues:

· Art Style: Is it the 2.5D anime-shader of FighterZ? The 3D brawler style of Xenoverse? Or a more realistic, high-fidelity look for a new RPG?

· Gameplay Snippets: Is the camera behind the character (Xenoverse/RPG) or side-on (FighterZ)?

· The Roster: Are there any new, never-before-seen characters that hint at an original story?

The Bottom Line: A New Legacy Begins 🏁

The Dragon Ball gaming franchise is at a crossroads. It can continue its successful existing formulas, or it can take a bold leap into a new genre. The January 2026 reveal will set the course for the next decade.

No matter what it is, one thing is certain: the world is about to witness a new level of power.