RE Engine

Lore & Background

Capcom originally intended to follow up MT Framework with the engine Panta Rhei, with development starting in 2011; it was abandoned due to development hell of the unreleased PlayStation 4 game Deep Down, for which it was to serve as a showcase. RE Engine was created in 2014, during the beginning of the development of Resident Evil 7. The engine was originally designed with the game's linear nature in mind and was created to make game development more efficient. The team did not choose a third-party engine because 'a highly generic engine developed by another company would not be appropriate' for a game like Resident Evil 7. MT Framework was not used for the project due to its slower development tools. Jun Takeuchi, the head of Capcom's Division 1, stated 'we had to rethink the way we make games. In order to carry out asset-based development, which is globally the mainstream, we began developing our new RE Engine'.

Since its introduction, RE Engine has been used as the primary game engine across all Capcom titles. No single game or franchise drives the direction of the engine, according to Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto; instead all studios contribute towards its improvement. This approach has avoided pitfalls that other developers have had dealing with the demand to use a singular engine tuned for a specific game to be used across all games, such as at Electronic Arts. When discussing Monster Hunter Rise, director Yasunori Ichinose discussed porting RE Engine to the Nintendo Switch, and said 'a lot of background technical engineering work need[ed] to be done just to achieve targeting a new hardware platform'. Capcom personally requested that Nintendo increase the Switch's on-board RAM from the previously planned 2GB to the finalized 4GB capacity, so it would be potent for developing games on the platform using RE Engine. In October 2023, Capcom unveiled 'Codename REX' (RE neXt ENGINE), their next-generation game engine, which will involve incrementally integrating RE+X technology into the existing RE Engine.

Reader's Guide

RE Engine represents a pivotal shift in Capcom's internal development strategy, replacing the aging MT Framework and the abandoned Panta Rhei project. Its creation was driven by the specific needs of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, emphasizing efficiency and linear game design, but it quickly became the company's universal platform. The engine's architecture, using C# for game logic via a proprietary process virtual machine called REVM, and its features such as photogrammetry, improved VR support, and advanced physics simulation, allowed Capcom to produce high-quality assets and maintain performance across diverse titles from horror to action RPGs. The collaborative development model, where all studios contribute to the engine's improvement rather than a single franchise dictating its direction, has been credited with avoiding the pitfalls seen at other large publishers. The engine's adaptability was demonstrated by its port to the Nintendo Switch for Monster Hunter Rise, which required significant technical work and even a request for increased hardware RAM. The announcement of Codename REX in 2023 signals Capcom's recognition of the current engine's limitations and its plan for a next-generation upgrade, ensuring RE Engine's lineage continues to evolve.

Did You Know?

• The engine uses C# for game logic and scripting, running on a proprietary process virtual machine called REVM.
• Capcom requested that Nintendo increase the Switch's on-board RAM from 2GB to 4GB to support RE Engine development for Monster Hunter Rise.