Capcom has been on fire over the past few years, delivering not only fan-favorite hits but also fresh, surprising successes such as Pragmata and Kunitsu-Gami. While many gamers continue to lament the industry’s shift away from physical media, Capcom’s president believes that very change is what allowed it to create not just new franchises, but also revives dormant ‘legacy’ series through Mega Man: Dual Override, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the Okami sequel — and potentially many more.
“We’ve wanted to revive dormant IPs for some time, but our development resources were limited,” explained President Haruhiro Tsujimoto in Weekly Famitsu magazine Issue No. 1951. “Simply put, we didn’t have enough manpower.” But he then added that a turning point came around 2017, when Capcom began fully embracing digital sales. Tsujimoto recalled being convinced that the process of selling games would change dramatically after hearing from Sony that the PS4 would be constantly connected to the internet. Instead of relying on retailers to keep games on shelves, digital stores would allow publishers to continue selling titles directly to customers years after launch, he thought.
That prediction was proven by Resident Evil 7‘s continued success to this very day. “Even now, nine years after its release, Resident Evil 7 continues to sell well, with annual sales reaching 2.6 million copies by 2025. We recouped development costs within two years of release, and since the third year onward, sales have been accumulating profit,” he added, stating that continued digital sales have become Capcom’s profitability foundations. The same goes for Monster Hunter; what once was a niche franchise with a dedicated fanbase has since exploded into a worldwide hit, with Monster Hunter: World reaching past 30 million copies sold.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Capcom’s latest fiscal year report revealed record sales and profits for a ninth consecutive year. It sold more than 59 million games during the fiscal year ended March 2026, with digital purchases accounting for around 93% of all sales. Capcom also plans to push that figure even higher, targeting a digital sales ratio of 95.4%.
The Capcom president also added that the company now hires more than 150 new graduates every year, who would be full-fledged developers in just two to three years. The growing workforce, combined with a more consistent revenue stream, allows Capcom to put resources into beloved-but-forgotten franchises as well as entirely new projects. “Because we have [this financial] flexibility, we’re able to spend years creating new IPs like Pragmata,” added Tsujimoto.
With Onimusha set to make a return this September, fans of dormant Capcom franchises may have more reasons to be optimistic. Whether it’s Dino Crisis, Breath of Fire, Lost Planet, or something even more obscure, the company now may have both the money and time to bring more classics back from the dead. If Capcom’s next revival is just around the corner, you’ll hear about it on GameObserver first.
