In an assessment of Capcom's current creative resurgence, a former employee based in the United States has pointed to an overreliance on project management software as a detriment to Western game development.
Speaking anonymously to journalist Lewis Gordon for The Ringer, the former Capcom staffer stated that there is "an overemphasis on project management in the West in terms of Jira," suggesting that task management through such systems does not always translate into tangible game development progress. In contrast, the employee described Capcom's approach as more director-led, with producers collaborating to ensure creative decisions align with player reception, timelines, and budgets. This contrasts with a perceived Western tendency to prioritize project management and software development methodologies that focus on timelines and charts.
Capcom's recent success, often dubbed a "golden age," has seen the company balance established franchises like Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Monster Hunter with new intellectual properties such as Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and Pragmata. This period of stability and creative output followed a challenging early 2010s, during which the company pursued a strategy of competing directly with titles like Call of Duty. The critical and commercial success of Resident Evil 7, for example, marked a significant shift from the overstuffed Resident Evil 6, signaling a renewed focus on impactful game design.
The former employee suggested that the industry's current struggles, including layoffs and financial difficulties at major publishers like Xbox and Sony, may be linked to an overwhelming pursuit of immediate quarterly returns. This focus, they argue, can lead to drastic measures that negatively impact development. Capcom, by contrast, has reportedly resisted such pressures, maintaining a healthier development environment that values creativity and experienced staff. The employee believes that an excessive number of micromanagers in Western studios, who rely on productivity suites like Jira as a primary measure of progress, are contributing to these issues.
While acknowledging that poor management is not exclusive to any region, with companies like Square Enix also noted for questionable business decisions, the source emphasized that a dogmatic focus on numbers can cause studios to lose sight of their work within the cultural landscape of game development. The long-term health of a studio, they concluded, depends on fostering a creative environment, retaining talent, and nurturing new developers, rather than solely relying on metrics from project management tools.