Bandai Namco has yet to reveal more details about the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi game that’s currently in development. However, the game’s codename has reportedly surfaced in Japan, reinforcing Bandai Namco’s focus for the upcoming title.
According to reputable Dragon Ball news reporter @DBSHype (via Tokyo-based GAMERGEN Editor in Chief @Marty_japan), the codename for the new Tenkaichi game is Dragon Ball: SPARKING! ZERO!. This is a placeholder for the game’s name in Japan until the official title is finalized. A similar situation happened with “Dragon Ball Project Z“, which would later become Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
Dragon Ball: SPARKING! ZERO! falls under the same nomenclature as the Dragon Ball Z: SPARKING! series, which is most commonly known as the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series outside of Japan. In a news release following the new game’s announcement, Bandai Namco reiterated that would be a new entry in the long running series. The series focuses on “faithful recreations of special moves and massive rosters of characters” from throughout the Dragon Ball universe. Bandai Namco promises to share more information at a later date.
The most relevant excerpt from the March 6 news release may be read below via the official Dragon Ball website:
New Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi Game Confirmed!
A new game in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! in Japan) series has been announced!! The news came as a big surprise to fans when the new trailer was unveiled at DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour 2023, a two-day event held on March 4-5 in the USA.
The first release in the 3D action fighting game series was Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!) all the way back in 2005. The game was such a hit that it was followed up with two sequels, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO) and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! METEOR), with all three garnering popularity among fans thanks to their faithful recreations of special moves and massive rosters of characters from throughout the Dragon Ball series.
