Capcom Plans to Transform RE Engine – Capcom is looking to take RE Engine outside of traditional game development and is looking at how artificial intelligence could play a bigger role in the technology behind its future titles.

The RE Engine is already powering some of Capcom’s greatest franchises like Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter. So the company’s move into AI could have implications for some of its most important game-making procedures.

If Capcom’s goals are anything to go by, it sounds like a more thorough overhaul to the engine itself, rather than just employing AI for game assets, which might make dev tools more automated, efficient and reactive.

Capcom is interested in incorporating AI into the RE Engine.

Capcom developed the RE Engine to provide a shared technology platform for its game development teams. Over the years it grew to be a big part of the company’s strategy, delivering games with cutting-edge visuals across a number of assets.

The next step could be to implement AI-powered features straight into that dev environment.

An AI-powered engine might maybe assist developers with asset generation, testing, optimisation, animation workflows and other repetitive production tasks. The exact implementation will influence the real development pipeline to a certain degree.

That’s a world apart from just plugging an AI tool into your existing workflow. But if the AI were built into the engine itself, developers might be able to work side-by-side with automated systems as they construct and test game environments.

What is RE Engine in Capcom?

The RE Engine is Capcom’s exclusive game development technology.

It became highly popular along with the Resident Evil series, especially after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was released. Capcom then started to roll it out on a few huge franchises.

Games that use the technology include titles from the Resident Evil franchise, along with Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter.

The engine is so crucial that technical modifications below it can have implications far beyond a single game.

How AI Will Transform Game Development

The gaming business is researching artificial intelligence more and more, but an AI-powered game engine might mean a variety of different technologies.

One such use is automated testing. There are a huge number of interactions, locations and situations in modern games. AI-aided systems have the ability to discover defects or odd behaviour faster than traditional testing approaches.

Another factor is optimisation. AI might even help developers find performance issues and suggest ways to better use game CPU, GPU and memory resources.

Asset workflows could use a little boost too. “AI-assisted tools could be used to help organise, modify or generate some development materials, while still maintaining human control over the final product.”

The major difference is that they would be development tools rather than necessarily replacing the creative work of game designers, artists, programmers and writers.

Could AI Accelerate Capcom Games?

One reason that Capcom might be interested in AI is efficiency in development.

AAA games have become increasingly difficult. Big landscapes, complex characters, robust physics, high definition graphics and sophisticated animation systems can take years and large teams to build.

Automation might free engineers up to perform tedious chores.

If Capcom can effectively integrate AI directly into the RE Engine, the technology could let teams to iterate more quickly throughout production.

That’s not to say Capcom will be delivering future games faster though. The length of game development times vary depending on a number of factors such as creative decisions, testing, production scope and publishing timelines.

AI may impact game testing as well

One area where AI could be very practical is in testing.

In a modern game, there could be thousands of possible interactions. Human testers could not possibly try all possible combinations of actions, hardware configurations and gameplay conditions in a realistic way.

AI-powered testing systems could run through a huge number of scenarios and identify odd behaviour.

As games become more and more complex, automated testing could be very valuable for a firm that oversees many major properties.

But automated testing will not eliminate the need for human quality assurance. Players perceive games in ways that are hard to quantify, including difficulty balance, pacing, usability and general feel.

What this could mean for Resident Evil

One of the most recognisable series that comes bundled with the RE Engine is the Resident Evil franchise.

Improvements to the underlying technology could potentially be useful for future Resident Evil efforts, but an AI-powered RE Engine doesn’t necessarily indicate that future games will include content created by AI.

Or developers might use AI in the background for optimisation, testing, dev support and other production activities.

That difference is key for gamers concerned creative AI may be obvious in games.

Other Capcom series like Monster Hunter could also benefit

There is potential for fall-out beyond Resident Evil.

The RE Engine has also been used on major projects with properties like as Monster Hunter, Street Fighter and Devil May Cry.

The technical challenges are unique to each series.

A large scale action RPG may need enormous environments and complex systems, a fighting game may require realistic animation, responsiveness and performance. AI-powered development tools can be a solution for teams with varied production needs.

The technology might also be integrated into Capcom’s overall long-term development infrastructure, instead of being a feature attached to one specific game.

An AI-Powered Engine Is Different from an AI-Created Game

The term “AI-powered game development engine” might easily be interpreted as Capcom wanting artificial intelligence to produce its games automatically.

Engine-level AI integration isn’t necessarily what it is.

A game engine is a mix of technologies developers use to create games. Another level of tools that normal artificial intelligence can provide is to help with certain activities.

Creative direction, gameplay design, art direction and final decisions can still be human-led.

In actuality, how impactful it will be depends depend on the artificial intelligence technologies Capcom ends up adopting and how its engineers decide to use them.

Why This Might Be Important For Capcom

Capcom has a history of iterating on existing tech rather than inventing a new engine each generation.

This approach can provide uniformity for development teams and enable the company to improve visual quality and production capabilities in the long run.

Another step in that technique may be adding AI to the RE Engine.

Capcom would want to think less about making it an app and more about adding artificial intelligence to the locations artists are currently building, testing and tweaking their games.

What Players Should Know Next

The greatest problem is how capcom actually uses the technology.

Expect players to ask about whether AI will remain primarily a background tool for development, or if it will be apparent in finished games.

Another key factor is how willing developers will be to embrace generative AI, and how much automation will be built in, and what protections will be put in place around creative workflows.

The comments could help to show whether the push is simply for greater manufacturing efficiency, or whether it’s about a seismic shift in the way Capcom develops games.

Capcom’s RE Engine Moves Into New Phase?

The RE Engine has evolved into a more generic platform from being a technology for Resident Evil, supporting a few of Capcom’s important brands so far.

Adding AI capabilities could be another huge jump in that growth.

The first impacts may not be visible to the participants. The biggest changes might be behind the scenes – speedier testing, improved optimisation and more efficient development techniques.

If Capcom can find a way to effectively implement AI into its games without compromising the artistic and technical qualities that have been a hallmark of its games, the RE Engine may become a significant case study in the evolution of traditional game engines in a fast-paced production landscape.

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