Capcom's Revival: From Resident Evil 6 to Monster Hunter Wilds' Success

With Monster Hunter Wilds breaking Steam records and Resident Evil more popular than ever thanks to Village and a handful of stellar remakes, it's almost as if Capcom is incapable of failure. However, this wasn't always the case. Less than a decade ago, after a string of critical and commercial flops, Capcom found itself struggling to maintain its footing and connect with its audience.

Capcom was grappling with an identity crisis. The survival horror genre, pioneered by Resident Evil, had lost its edge following Resident Evil 4. Similarly, Street Fighter, another cornerstone franchise, was faltering after the disappointing reception of Street Fighter 5. These challenges could have marked the end for Capcom and its cherished series.

Yet, amidst the turmoil, Capcom found a path to revival. A strategic shift in their game development approach, powered by a new game engine, breathed new life into these iconic series. This transformation not only reignited fan interest but also set the stage for years of critical and financial success, propelling Capcom back to the forefront of the gaming industry.

Resident Evil Lost Its Way

2016 was a challenging year for Capcom.

The year saw the release of Umbrella Corps, a Resident Evil online co-op shooter that was met with widespread criticism from both reviewers and fans. Meanwhile, Street Fighter 5 left many long-time fans puzzled, as it fell short of the expectations set by its predecessor, Street Fighter 4. Additionally, Dead Rising 4, which marked the return of the beloved character Frank West, would be the last new entry in the series.

This period represented the nadir of a challenging phase for Capcom that had begun around 2010. While the mainline Resident Evil games continued to sell well, their critical reception was declining. Street Fighter was struggling, and other key franchises like Devil May Cry were absent from the scene. Although Monster Hunter was thriving in Japan, it faced difficulties in capturing international markets.

"Many of us started feeling that what the fans and players wanted from the series was getting a little bit separate from what we were making.""All of this is a far cry from the Capcom we know today. Since 2017, Capcom has consistently delivered hit games from its flagship franchises, amassing both sales and critical acclaim. The list of successes includes Monster Hunter World, Devil May Cry 5, Street Fighter 6, and a series of top-tier remakes along with an acclaimed soft reboot of the Resident Evil series. In recent years, Capcom has seemingly mastered the art of game development.

Achieving this turnaround required more than just learning from past mistakes. Capcom had to overhaul its entire approach, from the target audience to the technology used. To understand this pivotal shift, IGN spoke with four of Capcom's leading creatives to explore how one of gaming's most successful companies overcame its challenges and emerged stronger than ever.

Founded in 1979 as a maker of electronic game machines, Capcom rose to prominence during the 80s and 90s with iconic 2D games like Street Fighter and Mega Man. The company successfully transitioned into the 3D era with titles like Resident Evil, and between 2000 and 2010, it modernized many of its classic franchises, culminating in the creation of one of the greatest games of all time: Resident Evil 4.

Released in 2005, Resident Evil 4 is celebrated for its masterful blend of horror and action, which significantly influenced the franchise's direction. At its core, Resident Evil 4 drew inspiration from horror classics like Friday the 13th, H.P. Lovecraft, and John Carpenter's films, yet it also incorporated thrilling Hollywood action sequences.

Unfortunately, this delicate balance was lost in subsequent games. Resident Evil 5 featured scenes like Chris Redfield punching a boulder and action-packed car chases reminiscent of Fast and Furious, which diluted the series' horror essence. This shift was evident to both players and developers, including Resident Evil 4 remake director Yasuhiro Ampo, who has been with the series since 1996.

"Overall throughout the Resident Evil series, we set up different goals, challenges, and things we want to try with each game… But this time, many of us started feeling that what the fans and players wanted from the series was getting a little bit separate from what we were making," Ampo explains.

This confusion led to Resident Evil 6, which attempted to cater to both action and horror fans by splitting the game into multiple storylines and characters, ultimately failing to satisfy either group. Fans expressed their disappointment online, while the developers experimented with new directions through spinoffs and online co-op games.

This decline was not limited to Resident Evil. Following the success of Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter 4 was a hit, but the sequel, Street Fighter 5, released in 2016, was criticized for its lack of content and poor online performance. Similarly, other key franchises like Devil May Cry struggled, with Capcom outsourcing the next game, DmC: Devil May Cry, to UK-based Ninja Theory. Despite becoming a cult classic, DmC faced backlash for its changes to the series' mythology and protagonist, leading to the franchise's temporary shelving.

During the early to mid-2010s, Capcom's key franchises failed to recapture past successes, and new attempts to appeal to Western audiences, such as Lost Planet and Asura's Wrath, fell flat. Dragon's Dogma, a new dark fantasy RPG from Devil May Cry director Hideaki Itsuno, was a notable exception, but overall, Capcom lacked focus.

It was clear that a significant change was needed.

Street Fighter 5, The Lost Cause

By the mid-2010s, Capcom began implementing strategic changes that would transform the company's trajectory. The first step was addressing immediate issues, starting with Street Fighter 5. Capcom enlisted director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto to stabilize the game and rebuild trust with fans.

Although they joined the project later and couldn't explain the game's initial state, Nakayama and Matsumoto faced significant challenges in improving it. "There definitely were some challenges within the production of the game, and that was part of the reason why I was brought into the team," Nakayama admits. "And because we were in a point in development where we couldn’t really make any major pivots or shifts, we had to proceed and move forward in the direction we were currently in, which created constraints on what we could and couldn’t do."

The constraints limited their ability to overhaul the game completely. Instead, Nakayama focused on addressing the most pressing issues while waiting for the opportunity to start fresh with Street Fighter 6. "We just didn’t really have enough time to address some of the problems and challenges we faced in Street Fighter V," Nakayama says. "And so, with our hands tied behind our backs, we basically had to wait for those ideas to be brought back for the initial conceptual phases for Street Fighter 6, so we could tackle and do things properly for the next title."

Matsumoto explains why they didn't abandon Street Fighter 5: "There wasn’t any sort of sense of like, 'Okay let’s just end Street Fighter 5 and focus on Street Fighter 6.' It was more like, while we were working on Street Fighter V, we were trying to figure out what we really wanted to do in Street Fighter 6 content-wise."

Street Fighter 5 became a testing ground for new ideas, which informed the development of Street Fighter 6. The team made numerous updates, from improving netcode and character balance to introducing new characters and mechanics like V-Shift, a defensive move tested in Street Fighter 5 but intended for Street Fighter 6.

The overarching goal was to rediscover the fun in fighting games, which Street Fighter 5 had lost. "We both realized that fighting games are fun, and when you get used to them, it becomes more enjoyable and something you can essentially play forever as long as you have an opponent to play against," Matsumoto says. "However, one of the challenges that we faced with Street Fighter V is that we felt that there wasn’t a clear pathway that helped guide players to get to that level where they finally feel like they’re having fun and will want to continue playing."

Street Fighter 6 aimed to be more accessible to new players while retaining the depth that veteran fans loved, using the lessons learned from Street Fighter 5 to launch as one of the most critically acclaimed games in the franchise.

To prevent future overhauls, Capcom needed a broader strategic shift, which led to vital behind-the-scenes changes.

Monster Hunter Took Over The World

Around the time of Street Fighter 5's launch in 2016, Capcom underwent an internal reorganization to prepare for a new generation of games. This included adopting the RE Engine, a more advanced replacement for the aging MT Framework. The change was about more than just technology; it was about creating games for a global audience.

"It was a few factors that came together," says Hideaki Itsuno, a former game director at Capcom known for his work on Devil May Cry. "The change of the engine and also all teams were given a very clear goal at that point to make games that reach the global market. [Games] that are fun for everyone."

During the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, Capcom focused on capturing the Western market with action-heavy games like Resident Evil 4 and spinoffs like Umbrella Corps and Lost Planet. However, these efforts did not yield the desired results. Capcom realized it needed to create games that appealed to a broader audience.

"I think that we had that clear goal of just focusing and not holding anything back," Itsuno says. "Towards making good games that would reach people from all over the world."

The period leading up to 2017 was crucial, with the launch of Resident Evil 7 marking the beginning of Capcom's renaissance. "I think that we had that clear goal of just focusing and not holding anything back towards making good games that would reach people from all over the world."

No other series embodies this global success better than Monster Hunter. While it had a dedicated fanbase in the West, it was significantly more popular in Japan. The series' success on the PSP, particularly with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, was largely due to Japan's strong handheld gaming market.

"20 years ago in Japan, having a network connection wasn't as easy, and there weren’t a huge amount of people playing Monster Hunter online. However, handheld consoles made multiplayer gameplay easy without internet access, and I regard it as a great success that we had players experience the game in this way, which was one of the ways we really wished for them to play and enjoy it, even in that era when online gameplay wasn't easy," explains Ryozo Tsujimoto, the series' executive producer.

Monster Hunter's focus on cooperative play was well-suited to handheld consoles, which were more prevalent in Japan. This inadvertently made the series seem Japan-centric, as Capcom released Japan-only content and events.

However, as Western internet infrastructure improved, Tsujimoto saw an opportunity to launch a more globally accessible Monster Hunter game. Monster Hunter: World, released in 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, marked a significant shift. It offered large-scale, AAA console quality action with enhanced graphics and expansive areas.

"Our approach to the globalization of the series and Monster Hunter in general really ties into not only the themes that we had going into designing the game, but also in the name of the game," Tsujimoto reveals. "The fact that we called it Monster Hunter: World is really kind of a nod to the fact that we wanted to appeal to this worldwide audience that we wanted to really dig into and experience Monster Hunter for the first time."

Monster Hunter: World was released simultaneously worldwide, without Japan-exclusive content, aligning with global standards. The team also conducted global focus tests to refine the game's systems based on player feedback, such as showing damage numbers when hitting monsters. These adjustments helped Monster Hunter: World and its 2022 follow-up, Monster Hunter Rise, achieve sales exceeding 20 million copies each.

"The fact that we called it Monster Hunter: World is really kind of a nod to the fact that we wanted to appeal to this worldwide audience that we wanted to really dig into and experience Monster Hunter for the first time."This growth was not accidental; Tsujimoto and the team found ways to open up the series to a wider audience without compromising its core identity. This approach continues with Monster Hunter Wilds.

"At its heart, Monster Hunter really is an action game, and that sense of accomplishment you get from really mastering that action is an important aspect of Monster Hunter," Tsujimoto explains. "But for newer players, it's really about getting to that point. The steps involved in getting to that sense of accomplishment is what we're trying to strategize for, in terms of designing for new players. So with World and Rise, for example, we were taking great care to analyze where players got stuck, what was hard to understand, what they were having trouble with, getting player feedback, and also doing our own kind of research into that. And all of that kind of knowledge has impacted how we've implemented new systems into Wilds."

Resident Evil 7 Began Turning Things Around

Monster Hunter had a winning formula, but convincing global audiences to give it a try was a challenge. The same was true for Resident Evil, where the development team had to choose between gory action and survival horror. Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi made the pivotal decision.

"It was around the time I was working on Resident Evil Revelations 1 and 2. I was trying to test different things, try different approaches," recalls Resident Evil 2 and 4 Remake director Yasuhiro Ampo. "And around this time is when the R&D teams were divided into R&D division one and two. The executive producer of the Resident Evil series, Jun Takeuchi, took command of R&D division one, and he set the core direction that the Resident Evil series needed to go back to its origins, to its roots."

Takeuchi decided that Resident Evil should focus on survival horror. This decision proved correct, as Resident Evil 7 was announced at PlayStation's E3 2016 conference with a first-person perspective and a moody trailer. The shift to first-person allowed Resident Evil to reclaim its horror roots.

"We cannot underestimate how critical it is for the series for it to be scary.""With Resident Evil 7, the executive producer, Jun Takeuchi, made it clear that we cannot underestimate how critical it is for the series for it to be scary and about survival. So he made it clear that Resident Evil 7 would go back to its origins, it would be very cautious with its survival elements. And with that as a basis, then we would try new and different things," Ampo says.

The game was a success, bringing a welcome return to survival horror with its unsettling southern gothic setting. While not as groundbreaking as Resident Evil 4, it ranks as one of the scariest games in the series.

Capcom did not abandon the third-person perspective entirely, planning to release remakes starting with Resident Evil 2. The demand for remakes was evident from fan projects, prompting producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi to adopt the slogan: "Well, we’ll do it."

The Resident Evil 2 remake, directed by Ampo, combined horror, action, and puzzles with the menacing presence of Mr. X, becoming the second best-selling game in the franchise. Following this success, Capcom remade Resident Evil 3, but there was hesitation about remaking Resident Evil 4, given its enduring popularity.

"As you mentioned, [Resident Evil 4] was still a title that enjoyed some popularity. So there was a lot of internal discussion on how maybe it’s not a good idea. Maybe we don’t need a remake for Resident Evil 4, especially because Resident Evil 4 is a game that is so beloved. If we get anything wrong with the remake, people might be quite vocal about their discomfort," Ampo reveals.

Despite initial reservations, the Resident Evil 4 remake was a hit, fine-tuning the action-horror balance to align with Takeuchi's vision of staying true to the series' survival horror roots. The remake removed some of the original's campier elements, replacing them with a darker, moodier tone while retaining the action hero moments.

During this period, Devil May Cry director Hideaki Itsuno also sought to reinvigorate the action genre. After working on Dragon's Dogma, he saw the action genre becoming too lenient. When the opportunity to direct Devil May Cry 5 arose, Itsuno aimed to challenge players, leveraging Capcom's new RE Engine.

The Reason Behind The Change

"I felt like the main trend with action games was to make action games that were very kind," Itsuno admits. "Maybe, for me, a little bit too kind to the players, lending a hand to the player too much to my liking."

Itsuno, who directed Devil May Cry starting with the second game, returned after nearly 11 years to helm Devil May Cry 5, one of the franchise's most successful entries. The time away allowed him to refine his vision, aided by the new RE Engine, which offered photorealistic assets and agile development tools.

"Technology-wise, there were not just little improvements that you would have when you work on a series consecutively," Itsuno says. "When there’s a wide timeframe, [the technology] changes significantly."

The RE Engine's capabilities allowed Capcom's developers to experiment and refine their games more efficiently. "So the original concept for the RE Engine was to allow for a development environment that was less stressful and could help us to make things quicker. Because it’s an internally developed engine, when we needed any additional tools, well, we could ask for them internally. They could be fixed somewhat quickly, internally, and also iterated on," Ampo explains.

This flexibility was crucial for Itsuno, whose goal was to create the "coolest" action game possible. "Devil May Cry is a franchise that stands on being cool," Itsuno says. "That’s what the franchise is, it’s about being cool. Ever since I took over the series from Devil May Cry 3, I put everything that I, as a person, I considered throughout my life to be cool. Anything I’ve seen on TV, in movies, and comics I’ve read, any sport experiences I’ve had, I try to distill everything that I think is cool into what the game is."

A New Capcom Golden Age

Since 2017, Capcom has consistently released critically acclaimed games, achieving a level of consistency that sets it apart from other major studios. This trend continues with Monster Hunter Wilds.

By focusing on creating globally appealing games using an advanced engine that supports various genres, Capcom has found a formula for success. The company seamlessly transitions between genres, from fighting games to survival horror to open-world RPGs, without losing its stride.

"Capcom is going through a golden era, and, well, now we have to do everything we can so that this lasts one more year, one more year, and every year, one more year.""Capcom's commitment to global, mainstream games has not diluted their essence. Instead, they've achieved a balance that keeps their games true to their roots while expanding their audience by millions. Many of Capcom's competitors are now facing similar challenges Capcom overcame a decade ago, chasing trends and losing their identities.

For Capcom, the changes made over the past decade have ushered in a new golden age that shows no signs of slowing down. When asked about this golden age, Street Fighter's Nakayama says, "It’s a very exciting time to be at Capcom right now. A lot of us are able to get excited about what we’re working on and are able to focus on things that we think are fun. So, yes, I guess a golden age may be one interpretation of that."

Monster Hunter's Tsujimoto adds, "Capcom is going through a golden era, and, well, now we have to do everything we can so that this lasts one more year, one more year, and every year, one more year. Hopefully we can extend it as long as we can."