To revive the Dynasty Warriors series’ declining popularity, Dynasty Warriors Origins will go back to the series’ roots, producer says

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC next January. At TGS 2024, AUTOMATON spoke with the game’s producer Tomohiko Sho to find out why and how Origins is going back to the series’ roots to offer both old fans and new players an accessible and immersive experience across modern platforms. 

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the latest entry in Omega Force’s long-running musou series Dynasty Warriors. The first game was released back in 1997, as a spin-off from publisher Koei’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. Heavily inspired by the Chinese 14^th century historical novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the game franchises feature dramatic interpretations of well-known Chinese warlords like Liu Bei and Cao Cao. In Dynasty Warriors: Origins, you will play an unnamed protagonist, and you will conquer the Three Kingdoms alongside the legendary heroes.  

Dynasty Warriors Origins

As the name suggests, Dynasty Warriors Origins will be taking the series back to its roots. But what is the reason for this? Sho explains that the series’ fanbase has grown more diverse over the years- with people enjoying different aspects of the games, making it hard to zero in on a target audience. “With the previous game, Dynasty Warriors 9, we tried making it open world, but the feedback was divisive,” Sho explains. “After many discussions among the development department about the future of the series, we concluded that the main appeal of the Dynasty Warriors series is its ‘tactical action.’ It’s a fusion of a high degree of freedom to attack and an interesting battle simulation against the backdrop of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These elements were prominent in the early entries in the series. I felt that we should reconstruct these elements with modern technology and bring them to all the players again, so I decided to steer the series back to its origins.”  

Although Dynasty Warriors Origins promises to give fans the chance to rediscover the series’ appeal all over again, Sho explains that “What we are focusing on even more is getting people who are not familiar with the series or The Romance of the Three Kingdoms to play it.” With the Dynasty Warriors’ basis in Chinese history, it can seem daunting to new players who aren’t familiar with the setting or characters. Sho explains that “To allow new players to easily become immersed in the world of Dynasty Warriors, we designed the game so that the story only goes up to The Battle of Red Cliffs and made the protagonist an original character with amnesia.”  

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is epic in length and trying to convey it all in one game would be very difficult. “Stopping at The Battle of Red Cliffs allows us to give players who are not familiar with The Romance of the Three Kingdoms an in-depth experience and convey the story’s appeal.” Having an original amnesiac protagonist also allows for characters and the setting to be introduced to him, making it easier for new players to understand who is who. It also provides a new perspective on things for die-hard fans too. “The warlords show sides to themselves that only the protagonist gets to see, allowing us to depict historical events from different perspectives than in previous games,” producer Tomohiko Sho comments. “The Dynasty Warriors series repeats the same history over and over again (laughs), but I think Dynasty Warriors: Origins story will be enjoyable for fans as well.” 

Dynasty Warriors Origins is scheduled to be released for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam) on January 17, 2025