Capcom wants to transform its in-house RE Engine into what it’s calling an “AI-generation game engine”.
As reported by gamebiz (via VGC), programmer Satoshi Ishida outlined the plans at the “Capcom Open Conference RE:2026” event yesterday (2nd October), explaining that the changes were coming as part of an ongoing overhaul dubbed the REX Project.
RE Engine has been in development since 2014 and made its debut in Resident Evil 7 back in 2017. It’s since been the engine behind the best part of 30 Capcom titles.
Ishida pointed to three challenges driving the REX Project – one, games have grown so large in scope and data volume that build and iteration times are slowing development down; two, RE Engine is now used by over 2,000 developers, including international staff and people coming from other engines, requiring better multilingual and accessibility support; and three, AI needs to be built into the development pipeline rather than bolted on.
That’s why Capcom intends to bundle several new systems into the REX Project, including RE:Dox, which standardises data processing across formats, RE:UI, which speeds up development tools by separating appearance from state, and RE:Log, which swaps text-based logging for an ID-based system.
He also talked about RE:Flows, a visual scripting tool that automatically converts to standard code; and RE:Runtime, a reworked runtime core built around batch processing for large numbers of characters, alongside a new optimised execution layer called RE:C++.
Ishida’s goal is to create an engine where AI can understand and generate code, run automated test plays to catch bugs, and support development directly, working towards what he called a future where teams “create games together with AI”. Capcom says it has already open-sourced some of the underlying technology to help with AI training.
The announcement follows comments Capcom made back in June, when it told investors its use of generative AI was intended “to improve the efficiency of routine operations so that our developers can devote more time to essential value creation”, while stressing that “the creativity at the core of such experiences should be handled by humans”.
In related news, Monster Hunter Wilds‘ upcoming Switch 2 port, with all its free DLC updates – including new monsters – will be available 4th December. It’s set to arrive with local co-op.