Keiji Inafune, the producer of Capcom hits like Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising, spoke at the Console Game Developer Conference 2025 in South Korea. The veteran dedicated the session to discussing the approach of developers in the modern industry.
Inafune was critical of the growing practice of publishers releasing games based solely on the fame of a franchise or the popularity of a genre, which guarantees predictable profits. He clarified: "I'm not saying it's bad to continue existing series or create games in popular genres. I mean, that shouldn't be the only direction of development." For the healthy development of the industry, developers "with a clear message" are needed.
In the 1980s and 90s, according to Inafune, there were almost no trends, and creating new concepts was the norm. Although he worked on series like Mega Man, switching between different projects helped build a successful portfolio.
Today, the industry is mature, and using past successes is not necessarily bad from a business point of view, but it should not dominate the gaming ecosystem. "The eleventh game in the series, the thirteenth in the franchise... This may be important for fans, but the passion for creation should not completely give way to repetition."
