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Capcom Cancels Multiple Games, Shifts Focus To In-House Development
Lately, Capcom has been outsourcing the development of many of their games to third parties. Slant Six did Operation Raccoon City, Ninja Theory had DmC: Devil May Cry, Lost Planet 3 is coming from Spark Unlimited, etc. Unfortunately, Capcom isn’t very happy with how these games have been performing. The company confirmed a “special loss” of ¥7.2 bn ($73.3 MM) after cancelling multiple titles that were in development at third party studios. They’re blaming the significant loss on “excessive outsourcing” of low quality games, slow digital expansion, and poor marketing.
Devil May Cry and Resident Evil 6 fell way short of expectations; DmC sold 1.1 million units of Capcom’s 2 million target, and RE6 performed even worse (relative to expectations), after selling over 2 million less copies than what they expected. Ouch.
The solution? Capcom wants to shift their focus to develop new installments in more of their franchises in-house. On the positive side, this means we’ll see more Capcom-developed Resident Evil games. Resident Evil 6 notwithstanding, those tend to be of a higher quality. On the less positive side, we probably won’t be seeing another Devil May Cry game from Ninja Theory.
That’s too bad, because my time with DmC was the most fun I’ve had with the series so far.
On top of relying less on other studios, Capcom is going to boost their digital strategies — maybe we’ll see a Outbreak game on XBLA after all — and “enhance co-ordination between marketing and development divisions.” Basically, that translates to “work on our poor marketing.”
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Epic’s Fortnite is heading for another crossover, this time with Universal Orlando and Halloween Horror Nights. The title’s annual Fortnitemares Halloween event will be coming to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort in a new scare zone, kicking off on August 28.
For those not in the know, Scare zones are themed, open-air areas where guests and actors roam around freely.
This is the first time Fortnite will be featured during the after-hours event, which will run from August 28 until November 1. Tickets and packages are on sale now at the official site.
Per the press release, guests will enter Freaky Fields, a Halloween-inspired living battleground that’s been “overcome with a threatening force.” From there, fans will meet up with the Battle Bus, featuring familiar Fortnitemares characters, including “a few new additions exclusive to Halloween Horror Nights.”
And of course, there will be Fortnitemares merchandise available for fans, including a graphic t-shirt, decal set, and an acrylic collectible piece.
Fortnitemares won’t be the only featured property at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. Killer Klowns from Outer Space will also be getting its own scare zone. Sinners, Stranger Things, Hellraiser, and Evil Dead Burn will also be part of the event, though they will be relegated to their own specific houses.
And while it’s early yet, gamers can probably expect Fortnitemares to return to Fortnite this October.