Capcom has been doing great lately, with its latest financial report from July 2021 showing a company-wide 16.8-percent sales increase (859.6 million), with its videogame division soaring – net sales up 25.6-percent ($691.3 million) and operating income up 53.1-percent ($340.2 million). Now, hoping to capitalize on the PC-gaming boom, Capcom want to make PC its main platform for games, with the initial aim being a 50-percent split between PC and console by 2022 or 2023.
The news comes courtesy of Capcom’s COO who spoke with Japanese news outlet Nikkei. That report was later reiterated by Bloomberg reporter Takashi Mochizuki. Further announcements include that Monster Hunter Rise – a game that has, so far, Nintendo Switch exclusive – will launch on PC in January 2022. Not a surprising move considering leaked data suggested that Monster Hunter World sold better on PC in the West than it did PlayStation.
Beyond this, Capcom has already started a shift to simultaneous releases between PC and console. Monster Hunter World took eight months to land on PC back in 2018 while more recent released like Resident Evil Village and Devil May Cry 5 launched on PC and console at the same time.
So, all of this begs the question: Will Capcom begin offering PC exclusives in the future?
It’s quite possible, but don’t expect big franchise games to be limited only to PC. Capcom still pulls a lot of sales from the console-playing world and launching a new big-franchise game on PC only would leave out a large base of players and, ultimately, have a negative effect on sales. There is a good chance, however, that future big-name games could land on PC first or PC players could be lucky enough to experience even more enhanced gameplay on future titles.
