The game is based on a parallel ending of Dragon Quest: before the final battle, the hero accepted the evil Dragonlord's suggestion - each rules a half of the world.

[5] Release in the west on the PlayStation Vita was chosen so that whether players had busy lives or had time to dedicate to the game, they could enjoy the title.

[4] Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto has said that Sony Interactive Entertainment's multiplatform PhyreEngine was chosen for ease of development across multiple PlayStation consoles.

[6][7] Protagonists were designed by Akira Toriyama, with Etrian Odyssey creator Kazuya Niinou serving as the game's director.

[23] IGN awarded it 8.9 out of 10, saying "Dragon Quest Builders admirably mixes the series' RPG traditions with Minecraft.

"[25] GameSpot awarded it 8.0 out of 10, saying "The excellence of Dragon Quest Builders illustrates the versatility of this 30-year-old franchise as much as it speaks to the engrossing appeal of Minecraft-inspired creation.

[30] A sequel, Dragon Quest Builders 2, was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 20, 2018, and worldwide on July 12, 2019.

[31][32][33] It includes cooperative gameplay for up to four players, and had developmental assistance from Koei Tecmo's studio Omega Force.