Dynasty Warriors Producer Doesn't Think Series is…

Summary

Dynasty Warriors producer Tomohiko Sho does not feel that the hack-and-slash franchise has been truly successful with Western audiences.
The franchise, heavily based around Chinese mythology and history, has proven far more successful in the Chinese market than in the West.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins has seen massive success since its launch for Koei Tecmo, re-inventing the franchise and selling more than one million copies in its first month.

One of the lead producers for the Dynasty Warriors series doesn't think the franchise has truly been successful in Western markets yet, according to a recent interview. The hack-and-slash series from Koei Tecmo has been a staple of gaming since the early 2000s, known for its chaotic large-scale battles based on historical Chinese wars. Dynasty Warriors has launched ten main-series games and a multitude of spinoffs, most recently releasing Dynasty Warriors: Origins as a major overhaul of the series. However, one of the game's main producers thinks the franchise has yet to truly hit with one audience.

The Dynasty Warriors franchise's newest entry made plenty of major changes to the series formula for its tenth main-series game. Dynasty Warriors: Origin features a smaller scope of time than past entries in the series, focusing entirely on the first half of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. Origins also features more heavy RPG elements than previous games in the franchise, introducing a new protagonist players can upgrade and improve throughout the game's story. Now, one producer feels Dynasty Warriors has yet to hit its stride in the West.

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By Gabriel Machado Pureza

Dynasty Warriors Producer Doesn't Think The Franchise is Successful in the West

As reported by VGC, Dynasty Warriors producer Tomohiko Sho shared his thoughts on the franchise's status in Western markets. Sho stated that he does not feel that Dynasty Warriors can be "called a success" in Western markets as of yet, citing the game's fanbase clearly leaning towards Chinese players. He did express optimism, however, about the franchise's future, claiming there is "potential" for the series to grow a larger playerbase outside the Chinese market. Dynasty Warriors: Origins saw significant success with its launch earlier this year, selling one million copies worldwide in its first month.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins' successful launch serves as the franchise's triumphant return after several years of dormancy. Dynasty Warriors 9 stood as the last numbered console game from the Dynasty Warriors franchise in 2018, with the ninth entry largely seeing mixed reception from fans and critics. The ninth game attempted to transition the series into a more "open world" style of gameplay, though Dynasty Warriors 9 saw criticism for both its story and the open world feeling empty. Koei Tecmo even revealed that a potential Dynasty Warriors 10 was canceled, with focus shifting towards Origins.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins puts the series back in the spotlight as part of several huge recent successes for the franchise's developer. Koei Tecmo revealed that it saw record-high profits in the 2024 fiscal year, boosted by releases like Rise of the Ronin and a remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2: Black. The studio has plenty on the way throughout 2025 and into 2026 as well, with two Ninja Gaiden games coming this year and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment in 2026. Dynasty Warriors: Origins serves as another success story in a banner year for Koei Tecmo.