Capcom is planning on developing their new fantasy action-RPG entry, Dragon's Dogma, "into a major franchise" following strong sales of the game in and outside of Japan, the publisher said in a press release.

"The game has become very successful by combining spectacular action with the characteristics of a social game, in which players can borrow and loan pawns with friends through online interaction," read the statement. "Dragon's Dogma set a new record in Japan for sales volume of an entirely new brand in its first week for releases during the past decade. Worldwide shipments have surpassed one million.

"As a result, Dragon's Dogma has become Capcom's 55th title to top the one million level," Capcom continued. "Demonstrating once again that Capcom ranks among the world's leading game producers in terms of technical and development skills."

We reviewed Dragon's Dogma here on AusGamers, which scored a respectable 8.5 out of 10. Reviewer Dylan Burns wrote: "Recondite and uncompromising, Dragon’s Dogma is an open love letter to Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, The Elder Scrolls and Shadow of the Colossus".

We definitely look forward to more from the series in the future.

It's been a good couple of years for the fantasy genre, capped off with the massively successful The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game that has a rampant, divided community of hardcore gamers, and one that certainly can't be ignored.

However, there are other, smaller names out there attempting to throw their own dragon weight into the popular fantasy action-RPG genre, and Capcom's foray, in the form of Dragon's Dogma, is no light weight, adding its own flair, homages and challenges for the truly fantasy elite. AusGamers newcomer, Dylan "Gameboffin" Burns, took the game for the review spin for us this week and walked away with a bit of a limp, but a smile on his dial nonetheless.

Click here for his full, in-depth review.

Capcom's open-world action RPG, Dragon's Dogma, is slowly making the media rounds as we head ever-closer to its May 24 release date, and today it's been revealed we'll be seeing a demo hit both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on April 25th.

With your party of three Pawns, the demo allows you to experience the different styles of two of the game’s character classes in two challenging encounters.

A melee specialist skilled in both attacks and counterattacks, as the Fighter you will make your way through underground tunnels and chambers before taking on the deadly Chimera in a Prologue quest, set before the events of the main game.

Swift and nimble, the Strider’s weapons of choice are bow and daggers, use them well if you are to defeat the mighty Griffin in the open plains surrounding the capital of Gransys.

The demo will also feature the full character creation toolset, and you'll be able to import any character you create in the demo across to the full retail release.

There might be a whole other reason to pick up Capcom's forthcoming fantasy action romp, Dragon's Dogma, on Xbox 360 over PS3 when it releases this May.

Capcom has revealed that anyone picking the game up on Microsoft's platform will gain exclusive access to a Resident Evil 6 demo a full 60 days earlier than when the same demo will be available on the PS3 (September 5) via a redeemable token packaged in with the retail copy of the game. Dragon's Dogma then will be released across both the PS3 and Xbox 360 May 24 (AU) and features a massive open-world built from the MT Framework tech that powered the likes of Lost Planet 2 and Marvel Vs Capcom 3.

An exciting new franchise which redefines the action genre, Dragon’s Dogma is from the team that produced some of Capcom’s greatest action games. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world.

Dragon’s Dogma introduces an innovative team system to the genre. Known as Pawns, these three AI partners fight independently, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from the player and their actions. By utilising the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network or PlayStation Network players will journey to the Rift where they can share their own Pawns with friends and be rewarded with treasure, knowledge of the world and strategies for taking down enemies. Conversely, players can borrow friends’ Pawns with the specific skills or experience required to tackle a particular quest. In addition, Dragon’s Dogma will ship with thousands of ready-made Pawns for players to pick their allies offline.

Like so much else this early in the year, we're getting a look at the game concurrently, so stay tuned for our own spin on how Capcom's foray into open-world action-RPG development fares (hint: pretty good, actually).

Fresh out of their annual Captivate event in Miami, Capcom have announced Dragon's Dogma, an all new action-game IP in the works by the guys that brought us Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 4.

Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world. Alongside your party of three, you set out to track down and destroy a mysterious dragon.

Your teammates fight independently of you, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from you and your actions. Dragon’s Dogma offers a near endless opportunity to help develop partner characters to fight alongside you. With an epic story and incredible action, Dragon’s Dogma is set to be one of Capcom’s newest hit franchises.

The game appears to be basically about hunting and killing giant dragons, griffins and the like, but there's no doubt a lot more to it than that.

Check out the debut trailer below (or click here for HD) and hit up our new Dragon's Dogma game page for the fact-sheet features, as well as some screenshots and concept artwork.