Capcom abandoned the "cult of personality": betting on team development helped preserve series for decades

Capcom doesn't have Japanese versions of Neil Druckmann or Todd Howard. They would do more harm than good.

In early June, Capcom celebrated its 43rd anniversary. In honor of this date, the company's president and COO, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, spoke with Famitsu about Capcom's development and explained why, several years ago, it decided to abandon a development model centered around individual star creators.

According to the executive, the gaming industry has long been built around prominent creative leaders. If a specific series was associated with one developer, its future often depended solely on that person's desire and capabilities. As a result, the franchise's direction was determined by one author's vision, and the departure of such a specialist could jeopardize the brand's continued existence.

As Tsujimoto noted, Capcom itself operated on a similar principle for many years. However, over time, the management concluded that this model had serious limitations, especially for a public company that must ensure the stable development of its key assets and meet shareholder expectations.

Ultimately, the publisher carried out a large-scale organizational reform. Instead of building projects around individual creative leaders, the company began forming teams capable of developing series independently of specific individuals. According to Capcom's president, this required literally "rebuilding games from scratch", and the management was even prepared for a temporary decline in sales.

Tsujimoto believes that the transition to team development helped franchises like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter remain popular for decades and regularly receive new installments. In addition, accumulated knowledge and experience are now passed between generations of developers, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the series.

This approach applies not only to existing brands but also to new projects. As an example of the company's modern structure, Tsujimoto cited the sci-fi action game Pragmata.

However, such a course also has a downside. Many iconic games owe their popularity precisely to a strong authorial style. Among the most famous examples are usually the works of Hideo Kojima or Yoko Taro, whose projects are closely linked to the creators' personalities and form a particularly devoted fan community.

Interestingly, former Capcom veteran Hideki Kamiya previously expressed regret that the modern industry is becoming more "product-oriented" rather than "author-oriented." One of the reasons for creating his new studio CLOVERS was precisely the desire to release games that more strongly reflect the creator's individuality.