Getting Started with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is the first new Xenoverse entry in a decade, developed by Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is upcoming for 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. There is no day-one calendar date, no confirmed retail price, and no published PC spec sheet yet. Your first job is not to theory-craft a perfect CaC — it is to wishlist the correct store, learn what Age 1000 actually is, and stop mixing Xenoverse 2 habits with the new battle system.

This beginner guide is the on-ramp. After you finish it, move to How to Play for mission flow and squad rules, then Combat for Ki Break and Perfect Guard. Keep the controls page open if you are heading to a Road Tour booth.

1. Wishlist the real product

Use the platforms tool and add the game on Steam, PlayStation Store, or Xbox. Steam lists the title as DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 3 (app 1857810) with a 2027 window. Official pages also exist on Bandai Namco America and Bandai Namco Europe. Nintendo Switch 2 has not been announced; do not wait for a handheld SKU that does not exist yet.

A wishlist is how you receive the launch trailer, any pre-order wave, and language-pack notes. Steam already lists sixteen interface languages, with full voice in English and Japanese. This wiki itself is English plus French, German, and Spanish — see the home FAQ if you are choosing a site language rather than an in-game language.

2. Understand Age 1000 before you watch another trailer

Xenoverse 1 and 2 sent a custom Time Patroller through Dragon Ball Z and Super history from Conton City. Xenoverse 3 leaves that frame. The setting is Age 1000, a distant future whose West City hub was designed with involvement from Akira Toriyama. You enroll at West City University and join the Great Saiya Squad (also written Great Saiyan Squad in some regional copy). Original characters Brett, Lilica, ROM, and Tap share the city with returning faces such as Bulma and Gamma 1.

Read the West City guide so you do not expect the Time Nest, Parallel Quests, or Conton City housing as your default loop. Mentors now arrive through MistyPix and the Fortuneteller Gal, which is covered on character creation.

3. Pick a race with the real constraint in mind

Launch races are Earthling, Saiyan, Namekian, Frieza Race, Majin, and Android. Every race can awaken. The important build rule is exclusive: you equip Soul Switch or an Awoken Skill, not both. If you want to become Vegeta or Piccolo for a burst window, you give up race transformations. If you want Super Saiyan-style stacking awakens that restore HP, you give up Soul Switch’s borrowed Super and Ultimate kit.

Compare the six options on the races page and the pre-launch race tier list. Do not lock a YouTube “best race” thumbnail in your head until you have read that exclusive-or rule on Soul Switch.

4. Relearn combat even if you have 2,000 hours in Xenoverse 2

Official combat notes (September 2026) describe a Ki-centered fight:

• Health sits top-left with squad info. Three knockdowns fail a mission; allies can revive you by holding interact.
• Ki fuels offense and defense. Perfect Guard (timed R1/RB) blocks drain and refunds Ki. Empty Ki is Ki Break — you are wide open to Critical Strike and Break Rush.
• Super Attacks (four), one Ultimate, and Soul Assist use gauges and cooldowns. Examples include Galick Gun, Kamehameha, Super Kamehameha, and Giant Storm.
• Super types include Defense Breaker, Ki Drain, and Critical Strike. Energy Charge is a Super that deals no damage and instead shortens other Super cooldowns.
• Potential Meter fills into Soul Switch or Awoken. Awoken no longer uses a hard timer; it lasts while you have Ki and drops if you hit Ki Break.

Walk through those systems on Combat and map buttons on Controls. Then look at fighting-style rankings only as a taste test — 130 Fighting Styles are promised, but the full list is not public.

5. Know what is still unknown

Do not plan around missing data. Bandai Namco has not published:

• A month-and-day 2027 release date (dedicated page: Release Date)
• Standard edition price or deluxe contents
• PC minimum / recommended specs or Steam Deck verification
• A full playable roster (producer Masayuki Hirano said 130 characters including non-fighters, with more later)
• Local split-screen co-op (online squads of four are confirmed; couch co-op is not)
• Cross-save (cross-play and cross-progression are planned; saves do not copy between platforms — cross-play)

Track those gaps on the news timeline and trailers. If you can attend a US event, the Road Tour page lists 2026 stops from Houston through Carson. Japan hands-on: TGS 2026. Race forms: Awoken Skills. Teachers: mentors.

6. A one-hour study order

1. Wishlist via platforms.
2. Skim West City so the story pitch is clear.
3. Read How to Play for squad size, retries, and HUD.
4. Drill Combat and Controls.
5. Decide race vs Soul Switch using character creation and the roster.
6. Bookmark official links instead of random leak accounts.

If you only do one extra page after this one, make it How to Play. That is the difference between watching a Broly clip and understanding why your teammate is lying on the floor waiting for a revive.