What Are Capcom Working On… A Look At Their Studios
2023 saw Capcom release two incredible games in Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6, but they also kept the year going with some collections and updates, so what does 2024 have in store for the Japanese gaming powerhouse?
Perhaps the biggest game to worry about first is Dragon’s Dogma 2, which went from being announced and then radio silent, before bursting with info and then a release date, one weird path for sure. Before that there is another Ace Attorney collection, the 3rd in just a few years, so maybe new entries are on the cards. We can’t ignore the possibility of more collections, something that Capcom love to do, but who knows what they would be themed to if they came.
One note from last years feature, we listed a studio known as Blue Harvest LLC, something that plenty of folks report on as a mystery for the company, but after scouring through countless IR documents, company breakdowns and more, I can safely say whatever it is, has nothing to do with Capcom, at least any longer. There is no information on that group by that specific name, though the name has meaning for Star Wars fans.
So with that out of the way, lets take a look at what is next for Capcom, if we can.
Division 1
Last Game Released: Resident Evil 4 (2023) | Series: Resident Evil series, Mega Man series, Dragon’s Dogma
Depending on who you ask, this is either that persons favourite team at Capcom, or they have never heard of it. Division 1 is where the Resident Evil series is developed and overseen, along with Mega Man, Dragon’s Dogma, Devil May Cry and perhaps most importantly that great little engine powering most of their games, the RE Engine.
Last year saw the studio gain a lot of attention when they not only released Resident Evil 4 Remake, but also then brought two Resident Evil titles to iPhone, iPad and select Mac models. Of course, we know this group is going to be working at getting Dragon’s Dogma 2 out the door, which is currently set for late March. I said last year that its been a few years since the last Devil May Cry game, and with the extra year, it is now 5 years since the last one, so something new for that would be great. As far as collections go, its unlikely we will see any from this group this year, if only because the only Mega Man games not already in a collection are the Game Boy versions of the NES titles and the fan-made, though officially supported Mega Man X Street Fighter. Mega Man Legends and its sequel are still not out on modern devices, but I can’t see that happening either. For now the division will be all in on Dragon’s Dogma and until that is done, we won’t hear much about anything else.
Division 2
Last Game Released: Exoprimal | Series: Monster Hunter series, Street Fighter series, Ace Attorney series
Last year saw the Division release one game, though there are two counted now as Capcom merged Division 3 into Division 2, which is not dividing but multiplying, oh well. Street Fighter 6 burst on to the stage in June, but the last game to release from them was Exoprimal, which made as much of a splash as you might have imagined it would.
2024 is going to be off to a decent start for the group, first of all coming off the reveal high of Monster Hunter Wilds at the 2023 Game Awards, but also because the third collection of Ace Attorney titles will be released this month. This collection, like the Mega Man talk above, almost completes the release of the series onto modern platforms. The series has two titles not included in any of the collections so far, both of which are from the Ace Attorney Investigations spin-offs. Street Fighter 6 is likely the game to keep this group busy across 2024 with more fighters to come in swinging. There is no talk about another Street Fighter Showcase, like the one that took place in April 2023, but I can see them doing something to promote the first anniversary and the second year of content.
CAPCOM MOBILE
Last Game Released: MEGA MAN X DiVE Offline | Series: Mobile ports for Ace Attorney, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter
This group had an interesting 2023, because the Mega Man game most people have never played was taken down after years of running, but then was released again in its Offline state. The game has over 100 playable characters, so even if you start now, getting them all maxed out could take a while, the game was initially built by Capcom Taiwan, the only development house outside of Japan these days, but there is no word if they had anything to do with the Offline version.
As for Mobile, they are working with Niantic on Monster Hunter Now, another crappy cash-in ‘game’ that requires you to be in the real world. Though is it a cash in if the developer of this is ripping off a game they already made in Pokémon Go? The game, Monster Hunter Now that is, only went live late last year, so expect to hear more about it as they try to suck people into swiping on their phones in public, but that should be all for this group.
K2 CO., LTD.
Last Game Released: Resident Evil 4 - Separate Ways | Series: Prisoner of Palma series
K2 Co is a support studio for the Divisions, working on projects alongside of them, as well as taking on development of their own series from time to time, Prisoners of Palma being one of them, but don’t worry if you have never heard of the series before it's quite unique. The studio assisted with development on the recent Resident Evil remakes, but they were the lead folks on the Separate Ways DLC, which released last year.
Given they support the other groups and take up their own works, there is no telling what they might be working on next. As we don’t know many games beyond Dragon’s Dogma 2, whatever is next will likely have folks from this group involved, just to what degree is unknown.
Swordcanes Studio Co., Ltd.
Last Game Released: None | Series: None
Swordcanes Studio is likely a name you have never heard, in July 2023, Capcom bought the studio up and it became part of the larger group. This studio is a support group, so they don’t make their own games, but rather provide services to Capcom and other studios, usually in the form of models, animations, backgrounds and such. In 2023 they have been reported to have helped on Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy XVI and Hi-Fi Rush.
Odds are we will see their names in the credits of a Capcom game in 2024, but that will be all.
