Capcom pumps £46m into new R&D studios

Capcom is investing more than £46 million into two new research and development buildings as part of sweeping changes to how it develops games.

The new buildings will house new facilities such as a motion capture room, sound effects house and “multi-purpose” spaces that can hold more than 100 people.

The two offices will be based in the same area in Osaka, and are set to be completed by January 2015 and February 2016. 

Capcom plans to hire 100 developers every year, mostly graduates, as it looks to move most of its development in-house. By March 2022 the company aims to employ 2,500 developers.

“The appearance of next-generation consoles with a variety of network functions has shifted the focus of sales from conventional package software to digitally distributed content,” read a statement from the publisher.

“The profit structure and business model are changing at an increasing speed as a result. Furthermore, the popularity of social games due to the widespread use of smartphones is enabling games to reach more user segments and enlarging the entire game market.

“To succeed in this challenging environment, Capcom has been focusing resources on strategic and growing areas under a policy of selection and concentration in order to operate with speed and flexibility. Constructing these new R&D buildings will make game development operations more efficient by centralising these operations and upgrading speed and control.”