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New Dragon Ball Age 1000 game really, really wants you to know that Akira Toriyama was involved in the development of (probably) Xenoverse 3

The Dragon Ball Age 1000 game project, which certainly feels like Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3, comes out in 2027, three years after series creator Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball Age 1000 Screenshot — Image credit: Bandai Namco

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Mon Jan 26 2026

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If there is one name that is more associated with Dragon Ball than Goku, it is undoubtedly Akira Toriyama. The man who created the original manga has been key to getting fan approval for Dragon Ball projects for years. Bandai Namco knows this, which is why they’re assuring fans that Akira Toriyama himself was involved in the upcoming Dragon Ball Age 1000 video game project, despite the artist passing away in 2024.

This isn’t a new tactic, of course. Remember how heavily the promotion of Dragon Ball Daima insisted that Toriyama was behind the story and characters, going so far as to assure fans he wrote at least parts of the script? That is basically what Bandai Namco is doing here, opening the trailer for the newly announced Dragon Ball game, with the working title Age 1000, with a focus on a new character designed by Akira Toriyama. The words “Akira Toriyama Presents” are up on the screen before we see even a hint of what the game might look like.

The difference is that Akira Toriyama will have been dead for at least two years before this game comes out, making it feel like they’re trying to get his stamp of approval from beyond the grave. The reliance on Akira Toriyama’s involvement to give the Dragon Ball Age 1000 game project legitimacy is understandable, but it still feels like they are desperate to ensure fans don’t write off the game before we even know what it is.

But what is Dragon Ball Age 1000? The trailer gives almost nothing of the gameplay or story away, but we've got a strong suspicion that it is Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3. The new character certainly looks like a Time Patroller design and seems to be unlocking new abilities based on characters in Dragon Ball to fight. There are also shots of previous Dragon Ball games, including images from both Dragon Ball Z: Kakorot and the Dragon Ball Budokai series, which feels like they're taking us through the extensive Dragon Ball video game backlog this time. Fans will remember that Dragon Ball Xenoverse focused on the anime series while Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 focused on the films, so this new direction makes sense.

Dragon Ball Age 1000 is slated for a 2027 release, with no real details (but plenty of hints that it is Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3) released yet other than the assurance that Akira Toriyama was involved.

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