Dragon's Dogma 2 devs on the big fast travel U-turn, and wanting to "win back the trust" of RPG fans with the Dark Arisen DLC

The developers of Dragon's Dogma 2 are aiming to "win back the trust" of RPG fans with the upcoming Dark Arisen DLC and a suite of updates. Producer Naoto Oyama and director Kenta Kinoshita acknowledged that the game's launch was fixated on its terrible technical performance and controversial microtransactions, which pushed easy fast travel options behind a paywall. They are releasing patches to address performance concerns, remove many microtransactions, and add a cure for the controversial 'Dragonsplague' mechanic. The developers are balancing player sentiment with the series' identity, as the scarcity of fast travel was a core element that made the game feel unique and hardcore. A patch in late June withdrew many microtransactions, and another in August will address performance and add new features. Oyama expressed hope that players will feel the base game is in a good state to jump into the expansion.