Dynasty Warriors anniversary announcement delayed to 2016

Dynasty Warriors fans expected something big last year, but it's running late.

Dynasty Warriors turned 15 last year, and publisher Koei Tecmo teased something pretty tasty to celebrate the series that spawned the sprawling Warriors (Musou) franchise, which includes Samurai Warriors, Hyrule Warriors, One Piece: Pirate Warriors, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage and Warriors Orochi, among others.

Unfortunately here we are in 2016 and the promised announce has not occurred. In a website update translated by Gematsu, Omega Force producer producer Akihiro Suzuki apologised and said we can expect an update this year.

“Last year, we welcomed the 15th anniversary of the Dynasty Warriors series, and we were not able to deliver the news fans were expecting. For that, we are very sorry," he wrote.

“This year, we’re preparing to be able to make a big announcement, so please look forward to it.”

What a wonderful opportunity for a bit of trivia! Did you know that the core Dynasty Warriors series is numbered differently in Japanese and English? The problem dates back to 2000, when Koei Tecmo published a 3D action game called Shin Sangoukumusou ("True Three Kingdoms Unrivalled") for PS2 as a spiritual successor to a 1997 PSOne versus fighter called Sangoukumusou ("Three Kingdoms Unrivalled").

Since the versus fighter had been called "Dynasty Warriors" in the west, where we can't be trusted to know anything about one of the most widely-read and influential classical novels let alone a tremendously busy period of history, the localisation team unwisely decided to simply slap a "2" on the battlefield sim and call it good. Fast forward six sequels and we're still dealing with the fallout and having to explain how the series is actually only 15 years old. Amazing scenes.