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Capcom’s new REX engine will address “ballooning” game scales and no, that’s probably not a Dino Crisis referenceNew tech will also make life easier for overseas developers
New tech will also make life easier for overseas developers
Image credit:Capcom
Image credit:Capcom
RE:2023 RE ENGINE’s Past and FutureWatch on YouTube
RE:2023 RE ENGINE’s Past and Future
“This has resulted in slower iteration speeds than in the beginning and the need for more efficient mechanisms to handle larger and larger amounts of assets,” the video continues. “The number of titles developed using RE Engine has also diversified and required a high degree of customisation to suit each genre.
“In addition, the number of mid-career and new graduate hires who have experience with commercial game engines is increasing, and the same level of usability and customization features as commercial engines are now demanded. In order to solve these issues, a new level of engine is required that goes beyond the boundaries of in-house engines.”
Rather than rolling out the new REX engine in one go, Capcom plan to gradually weave the core features into the existing RE Engine tech.
I realise this all makes for rather dry reading, but the implications are interesting. Firstly, it sure does sound as though Capcom are gearing up to make REX a commercial game engine, competing directly with Epic and co. Secondly, and no less speculatively, the talk of needing to support more genres is promising inasmuch as it could be grounds for Capcom experimenting a bit beyond their core franchises. Thirdly, IS “REX” A REFERENCE TO DINO CRISIS? No, it probably isn’t. It’s always unwise to read too much into Capcom naming conventions - RE Engine, for instance, sounds like a reference to Resident Evil, but it’s actually shorthand for “Reach for the Moon”.
The prospect of a new Dino Crisis weighs heavy on the minds of many videogame enthusiasts - you should see the quote-tweets for the video above. For a time, people were convinced that the not-widely-likedExoprimalwas a spiritual Dino Crisis sequel. “It always started off as a concept to create a new IP,” director Takuro Hiraokatold Liam (RPS in peace) in May. “The fact that dinosaurs are in it naturally puts people in mind of another game that has dinosaurs in it. But that’s purely the only level of overlap that the two games have.”
