Last year, Dragon Ball Sparking Zero quickly became one of the biggest anime games of recent memory. Reaching 3 million sales within 24 hours of its release, this arena fighter set a benchmark for modern anime games, and it seems the title is still doing well one year later.
In a small update, producer Jun Furuya confirmed that the game is still seeing at least 1 million players each month, highlighting sustained popularity rarely seen across other anime arena fighters.
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero recently won the ‘Grand Award’ from PlayStation, a title reserved for Japanese games with outstanding commercial performance across the globe.
On this occasion, producer Jun Furuya noted that this success has been made possible thanks to the fans and their continued support. He then went on to confirm that one million people play Dragon Ball’s latest AAA offering each month, a statement that many found shocking at first.
“Even now, a year after its release, over one million people play it every month.” -Jun Furuya
This is primarily because Dragon Ball Sparking Zero does not have the healthiest player base on Steam today, at least compared to its launch. At the time of writing, fewer than 1,000 concurrent Steam players are active in-game. Jun Furuya’s statement suggests most of the game’s players are on consoles, which is usually the case for anime titles.
The game also made its debut on the Nintendo Switch platform recently, likely propelling player counts even higher. For fans of this particular Dragon Ball title, the good news is that this type of player retention should be more than enough to convince Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft to continue supporting Dragon Ball Sparking Zero with more DLC.
With games like Dragon Ball FighterZ set to receive new content in the form of Super Saiyan 4 Goku, it only makes sense for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero to follow suit.
A major event celebrating the Dragon Ball franchise is set to be held on January 25, 2026. Dubbed ‘Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri,’ this event could show a small glimpse of what the future holds for Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, including new DLC, updates, and more.
