MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Capcom has doubled its profits for the first half of this fiscal year thanks to Monster Hunter: World, which has now become Capcom’s biggest selling game of all-time.
Topping 10 million shipments in the second quarter of this year – owed, in part, to the long-awaited release of Monster Hunter: World on PC – the action-RPG has hit a record high for the Japanese publisher and developer, prompting a 70 per cent year-on-year increase in H1 revenue to ¥34.2 billion ($305 million) and boosting Capcom’s operating profit to ¥11.8 billion ($105 million), a 207 per cent increase on the previous year. Net profit rose 97% to ¥6.8 billion ($61 million) (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz).
This brings Capcom’s overall revenue for the first half of this year to ¥43.3 billion ($387 million), a year-on-year revenue increase of 29 per cent. With the eagerly-anticipated fan-favourite Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil 2 Remake debuting inside this fiscal year, too, Capcom hopes to build upon its early year success.
These profits come despite the closure of Dead Rising studio Capcom Vancouver earlier this year, for which the publisher had anticipated losses of ¥4.5 billion after the termination of projects already in development, resulting in 158 job losses. A "skeleton crew" remains in place until January 2019 to manage the studio’s closure.
Launched in January 2018, Monster Hunter: World shifted 5 million units during its opening weekend, hitting 7.5 million copies sold by March 31st. Of course, Capcom’s success isn’t solely attributable to Monster Hunter: World; Resident Evil VII, Monster Hunter XX on Switch (a Japan-only title) and Switch-exclusive Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers also contributed to Capcom’s solid fiscal performance.
