Square Enix has announced that the US release date of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King will be released on November 22, 2005. The Dragon Quest series has sold more than 40 million units worldwide, and there are laws in Japan that prevent a game of the series to be released on a weekday to prevent problems with employers.

Most exciting for many US gamers, Dragon Quest VIII will ship with a playable demo of the US version of Final Fantasy XII.

Dragon Quest VIII is developed by Level 5, who also worked on Dark Cloud 2 and are working on their upcoming title Rogue Galaxy. DQ8 will ship at an MSRP of $49.99 USD and will be rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB.