Capcom says RE Engine is a ‘strength going into next-gen’

Capcom believes its proprietary RE Engine puts it in a position of strength going into the next console generation.

With PlayStation 5 recently announced and Microsoft expected to reveal the next Xbox at E3 in June, investors and industry watchers are keen to know how well prepared game makers are for the upcoming transition.

Read our E3 2019 dates schedule for every conference and live stream date.

Asked about Capcom’s strengths relating to next-gen consoles during a recent financial results presentation, company president and chief operating officer Haruhiro Tsujimoto highlighted the RE Engine, which was used to develop Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil 2 Remake and Devil May Cry 5.

“The games we developed using the RE Engine during this current hardware generation have received critical acclaim, and from the early stages of building this engine, we kept the ability to augment it for next-generation development in mind; as such, we view the RE Engine as one of our strengths that will contribute to next-generation game creation,” he said.

“While we are unable to comment on the specific number of titles or release windows, there are numerous titles currently being developed internally with the RE Engine,” he later added.

Tsujimoto also commented on a new Capcom office established to formulate the company’s next-gen strategies. “The Master Planning Office’s primary role is to develop a structure for the next generation,” he said.

“It will develop forward-looking strategies for the long term, addressing how Capcom should approach a market where it is believed the digital ratio will only further grow. Currently, its activities are primarily in the information gathering stage.”

Reporting its full year financial results earlier this month, Capcom said Resident Evil 2, released in January 2019, “exceeded expectations” with some four million units shipped by the end of March. Devil May Cry 5 “also performed strongly”, shipped two million units in a matter of weeks.

Fielding similar questions from analysts earlier this month, Take-Two said it’s not expecting a “challenging” shift to next-gen consoles, while EA said it’s hopeful it won’t have to overcome major technology hurdles when it comes to building games for PS5 and the next Xbox.