Capcom's recent success is significantly bolstered by its strategy of remaking beloved past titles, which in turn provides crucial financial backing for new Resident Evil games and entirely original projects such as Pragmata. Producer Masachika Kawata highlighted this symbiotic relationship in a recent interview, explaining that the consistent release of remakes helps Capcom maintain its goal of delivering a Resident Evil title annually while also allowing development teams to refine their skills.
"One of the reasons for creating remakes is producing a new entry in the Resident Evil series every year would be quite an undertaking and a difficult task," Kawata stated. "So, being able to revisit older games and remake them helps Capcom meet that goal of releasing a Resident Evil title each year, but it also allows the team to continually challenge themselves and hone their craft."
These remakes are not viewed as lesser than mainline titles. Instead, Kawata emphasized their importance in generating the necessary 'financial resources' to fund both new installments in established franchises and novel intellectual properties like Pragmata, which achieved 2.5 million sales in its first three months. This approach has positioned Capcom favorably, enabling it to leverage its catalog of classic games and excel at modernizing them. The Resident Evil 4 remake, for instance, was a particularly successful endeavor, meeting high expectations.
However, the pursuit of remakes is balanced with the necessity of original development. Kawata stressed that new titles like Pragmata are vital for pushing development teams to tackle fresh challenges and innovative gameplay scenarios within the AAA space. "Creating new things is not just absolutely necessary for the games industry," Kawata added. "It’s absolutely necessary for the entire entertainment industry. If you’re not doing new things, you’re just going to be repeating old things. And while that’s not necessarily bad in itself, you’re never really going to move forward that way."
While there may be a desire for more spin-off titles or entirely new ideas, Capcom's current focus remains on its established remake pipeline and new mainline entries. Rumors suggest potential DLC for Resident Evil Requiem and a remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica are planned, indicating a continued emphasis on both current-generation remakes and new content for existing franchises. Despite this, the company maintains its commitment to innovation, recognizing that creating new experiences is fundamental to industry progression.