Everything We Spotted In Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen’s New Spotlight Showcase

Capcom dropped a brand new Capcom Spotlight last night, and it focused on a bunch of their upcoming and recently released games, such as Resident Evil Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. However, for my tastes, the juiciest stuff in there was about the upcoming Dark Arisen expansion for Dragon’s Dogma 2.

The first part of the Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen showcase was just a rehash of the announcement trailer that dropped during the Nintendo Showcase on June 9, but it was immediately followed by the hypest possible reveal: Kento Kinoshita is returning as director.

In case you’re unaware, Hideaki Itsuno, the creator of Dragon’s Dogma and the original director of the first two games, actually parted ways with Capcom in August 2024, five months after the release of Dragon’s Dogma 2. However, Itsuno didn’t direct the original Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen expansion–Kinoshita did. The first Dark Arisen expansion basically improved the original game in every single way, so it’s a relief to hear that Kento Kinoshita is returning for directorial duties for Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen.

Before we get into the properly juicy stuff, there were a few throwaway mentions of some new additions coming to Dragon’s Dogma 2’s base game once Dark Arisen releases on October 9, 2026. Some new hairstyles and tattoos are being added to the already impressive character creator, alongside “12 unique dungeons” that are being added to the original map. Not much info about the 12 new dungeons, but it’s cool that the original map is getting some new stuff, and it won’t just all be contained within the new region, Norgan.

However, speaking of Norgan, it seems that the Relic system from the original Dark Arisen is making a return in Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen. You’ll be able to find armor and weapon relics hidden throughout Norgan, alongside getting them as rewards for killing enemies. Once appraised, these relics have a chance of featuring “special effects” and “unique skills.” 

We also got a little more info on the undead dragon and the mysterious woman featured in the previous trailer. Kinoshita stated that the “Fallen Dragon” is at the “heart” (iykyk) of the expansion, and that the mysterious woman, named Eir, has been pursuing this thing for some time. Appropriately vague for a Dragon’s Dogma game, but I’m into it.

There was also an interesting aside about a new update that Capcom previously announced for the end of August. There is some not-so-exciting stuff in there, like bug fixes and UI improvements, but there are also planned performance improvements and “pawn adjustments” on the way too. Perhaps most interestingly, there are “adjustments” planned for the Dragonsplague mechanic (apologies in advance to Kotaku‘s Rebekah Valentine). Personally, I love that your pawns have a random chance of contracting a disease that turns them into a nuclear bomb, but if you don’t, Capcom is adding “treatment methods” to get rid of it. This includes an item called the “Dragonsbaulk Draught,” which “frees [pawns] from the affliction” when taken. There are also “benefits” to letting your pawns contract Dragonsplague, too, seemingly resulting in them dishing out more damage.

The absolute best addition in the August update is that it will now add two new weapon skill slots. This is actually old news, as Capcom revealed this part two weeks ago, but it’s such a vital addition that it bears repeating. I can’t wait to make the most busted Wayfarer class known to man by slapping more Mystic Spearhand and Magick Archer skills onto it.

Overall, yeah, it looks awesome. At the very least, it’s nice that a bunch of quality-of-life improvements are planned; hopefully this means that Capcom will finally manage to stop the framerate from tanking every time I step foot in Vernworth’s city square.