This Monday, CAPCOM stock reached its all-time high record at 4,865 yen, as noted in a tweet by Japanese gaming market analyst Serkan Toto.
CAPCOM shares opened at 4,780 today and have now slightly decreased to 4,840, which is still a 2.22% increase. As you can see from the chart, the Japanese publisher and developer has been mostly on a roll over the past few years, owing to a long string of successful game releases.
It’s Monday noon in Japan where Capcom’s stock today hit 4,865 yen earlier in the morning, an all-time high for the company.
(Screenshot shows the price at the current 4,850 yen.) pic.twitter.com/xexMEtfNyp
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) April 3, 2023
Around seven years ago, things were much different. In 2016, CAPCOM released the Resident Evil Origins Collection, a rather low-effort compilation of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero remasters; Street Fighter V, which was supposed to take the world of fighting games by storm but largely failed due to scarce single player content and poor performance during online multiplayer matches; Umbrella Corps, a generic third-person shooter that even the Resident Evil IP couldn’t save from being thoroughly panned by critics and fans alike; and Dead Rising 4, which while decent couldn’t save CAPCOM Vancouver from being closed less than two years after its release due to poor sales and the cancellation of the studio’s next projects.
The rise of the famed developer began in early 2017 with the release of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, which is largely credited as the spark that reignited CAPCOM’s creativity. The developers took a gamble, moving their prized survival horror IP to a completely different playstyle and setting. For the first time in the series, players didn’t take charge of a trained cop or member of the special forces but of an ordinary guy who, while desperately looking for his missing wife, finds himself living a nightmare in a godforsaken, sun-drenched spot in Louisiana. Amping up the horror factor was the choice to abandon the third-person camera in favor of first-person view.
The risk paid off. The game sold well and was hailed as a return to form for the developer, delivering a momentum that even the stumble of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite couldn’t break.
Then, in early 2018, CAPCOM found itself an even bigger golden goose with Monster Hunter: World, which over time became the best-selling game ever made by the Japanese studio. Previously only popular in Japan, World made the franchise far more accessible and palatable to Western audiences.
The rest, as they say, is history. Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 3, Monster Hunter Rise, Resident Evil Village, and last but certainly not least, the Resident Evil 4 remake that just sold over three million copies in two mere days since its launch.
Looking ahead, Street Fighter 6 is poised to redeem even the legendary fighting franchise, at least according to the preview impressions. On the other hand, the next CAPCOM game (Exoprimal) may turn out to be less than successful. The Japanese publisher was savvy enough to partially insulate itself from the risk by taking Microsoft’s money and putting it on Game Pass from day one, though.
Then again, not every game can be a hit, and investors are clearly bullish on the company’s future prospects, which also include a brand new sci-fi IP (Pragmata, originally scheduled for 2022 but later moved to 2023 and possibly due for another delay given the absence of communication) and the long-awaited Dragon’s Dogma 2 by Hideaki Itsuno, which could be another megahit in the making for CAPCOM if it adds online co-op play as most fans are hoping for.
