Capcom reports record profits driven by Iceborne, digital sales

Capcom has announced record first half profits on the back of strong digital sales of recent instalments in its core franchises.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, released on September 6 for PS4 and Xbox One, was the star of the company’s second quarter ended September 30, shipping 2.8 million copies during the month and “driving profitability improvements”.

Boosted by contributions from high-margin digital sales, also including Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry 5, Capcom said it achieved “the highest profit at all levels at the end of a second quarter in company history.”

While the company’s first half sales were down 14% year-over-year to ¥37,272 million yen ($342.2 million), operating income rose 33.2% year-over-year to ¥13,992 million ($128.5 million), and net income leapt 43.7% year-over-year to ¥9,846 million ($90.4 million).

“Targeting opportunities to capture new customers,” the company also released Shinsekai: Into the Depths for Apple Arcade in September, although it didn’t offer any insight into the game’s early performance.

Looking ahead, Capcom says it’s aiming for seven consecutive years of operating income growth and the highest profit in its history, driven by its games business.

In terms of releases during the second half of its business year ending in March 2020, the company plans to launch the PC version of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne via Steam on January 9, 2020.

Key features of the PC version include high resolution textures, 4K resolution support, an uncapped frame rate, ultrawide 21:9 support, DirectX 12 support, and revamped mouse and keyboard controls.

Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection will be released for consoles and PC on January 23, 2020, while Mega Man X Dive for iOS and Android devices will launch in the west in 2019.

Also on the mobile front, Capcom says it aims to “produce a hit domestically and internationally through both codeveloped and internally developed titles.”

Ryozo Tsujimoto, head of Capcom’s consumer games development division 2 and producer of the Monster Hunter series since 2007, has told VGC the publisher is “not giving up” on the idea of creating new original game series, despite its recent focus on core franchises like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.