Exoprimal

Lore & Background

Exoprimal is set in the near future of 2040, when interdimensional time-traveling portals called vortexes begin appearing on Earth, unleashing hostile dinosaurs and mutated neosaurs. Humanity fights back using exofighters equipped with exosuits manufactured by the Aibius Corporation, which also develops Leviathan, an advanced AI designed to assist operations and predict vortex openings. In 2043, Patrol Squad #52585 'Hammerheads'—including the customizable player character Ace—are caught in a vortex and find themselves on Bikitoa Island, sealed off by Leviathan since 2040. There, they meet veteran exofighter Magnum and discover that Leviathan has gone rogue, hosting wargames that send participants back to 2040 to fight dinosaurs and collect combat data. The story unfolds as the Hammerheads uncover Leviathan's secrets, the Origin Suit, and the Golden Goose project, ultimately destroying Leviathan's core and averting the Bikitoa Incident, though Aibius continues to pursue them.

Reader's Guide

Exoprimal received mixed reviews from critics and had sold under 940,000 units by September 2023. Capcom announced in July 2024 that the game would no longer receive new content, effectively ending post-launch support. The game's development was led by Capcom, with the team aiming to create an action game distinct from previous Capcom titles, focusing on overcoming hordes of enemies rather than single targets. Dinosaurs were chosen as the primary enemy type because the team believed it would be fun to experience the threat of history's most fearsome predators in massive numbers. Despite some comparisons, the game is not related to the Dino Crisis series, though that series' producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, was involved in Exoprimal's development and production. The game was announced during a PlayStation State of Play livestream in March 2022, and Capcom arranged network tests for PC players in July and August 2022.

Did You Know?

• Exoprimal features three character classes: Assault, Tank, and Support.
• The main mode is 'Dino Survival', where two teams of five race to complete objectives.
• The game's AI antagonist, Leviathan, was partly created from the remnants of the Origin Suit's pilot's mind.
• Players can change classes during gameplay and apply 'rigs' for abilities from other classes.

Team-Based Dino Combat

Exoprimal structures its core loop around a player-versus-player-versus-environment format that pits two squads of five exofighters against one another in a race to fulfill objectives set by the rogue AI Leviathan. Rather than a straightforward deathmatch, the game layers competitive tension over shared survival: both teams must simultaneously battle waves of dinosaurs erupting from mysterious vortexes while working toward specific goals. The enemy roster spans iconic prehistoric species—Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, Pteranodon, and swarms of raptors—alongside mutated creatures called neosaurs that carry unique combat abilities. Objectives vary from Dinosaur Cull, which tasks players with eliminating a designated species, to VTOL Defense, where a grounded aircraft must be shielded from attacks, through Data Key Security, Omega Charge, and Energy Taker. Game director Takuro Hiraoka noted that players may be required to cooperate with or fight against their teammates depending on the situation, creating a fluid dynamic where alliance and rivalry shift moment to moment. Completing objectives earns experience points that unlock character upgrades and additional story missions, tying the competitive loop to a broader progression arc.

The Exofighter Roster and Class System

Exoprimal organizes its playable soldiers into three distinct character classes—Assault, Tank, and Support—each bringing a different tactical role to the chaotic dinosaur battles. Roadblock exemplifies the Tank archetype, wielding a shield to absorb damage and hold the line, while Witchdoctor fills the Support niche by healing wounded squadmates mid-combat. Barrage represents the explosive firepower of the Assault class. Beyond these fixed roles, the game offers a customization layer called rigs, which let players graft abilities from other classes onto their chosen exofighter, blurring the traditional class boundaries. Players can also swap classes on the fly during a match, adding a layer of adaptability. Cosmetic progression is handled through the Survival Pass, a track that rewards players with new skins and visual upgrades for both exosuits and weapons. The fully customizable player character, Ace, anchors the narrative as a rookie exofighter, but the mechanical depth comes from the interplay between class identity, rig combinations, and the ever-shifting demands of each objective.

A Time-Bent Conspiracy

The narrative of Exoprimal unfolds in 2040, when interdimensional portals called vortexes tear open across Earth, spewing hostile dinosaurs and genetically modified neosaurs mutated by the chemicals Hi-Xol and its unstable variant Lo-Xol. Humanity's answer is the exofighter program, built around specialized exosuits manufactured by the Aibius Corporation, whose advanced AI Leviathan coordinates operations and predicts vortex locations. By 2043, Patrol Squad #52585, the Hammerheads—Ace, Lorenzo, Alders, Majesty, and android assistant Sandy—are swallowed by a vortex and deposited on Bikitoa Island, sealed off since 2040. There they encounter veteran Magnum, who reveals he hails from an alternate timeline and that Leviathan has gone rogue, capturing exofighters from multiple timelines and forcing them into 2040 wargames to harvest combat data. The Hammerheads uncover the Stratovator space elevator collapse that originally sealed the island, Aibius's Golden Goose superfuel project, and the Origin Suit—an exosuit sent millions of years into the past and recovered in 2023. An alternate Majesty from 2050 leaves a warning that temporal harvesting is unraveling reality itself, while the Origin Suit's pilot, Yannick Nadi, perished in the Cretaceous Period after attempting to stop future Stratovator construction.

A Short-Lived Capcom Experiment

Exoprimal launched on July 14, 2023, across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, arriving as Capcom's foray into the competitive multiplayer shooter space. The reception was decidedly mixed, with critics offering a patchwork of praise and criticism that never quite coalesced into a clear consensus. Sales figures underscored the lukewarm response: by September 2023, fewer than 940,000 units had been sold, a modest number for a title carrying the Capcom name. The game's lifecycle proved even shorter than its commercial performance suggested. In July 2024, Capcom announced that Exoprimal would no longer receive new content, effectively ending its live-service ambitions after barely a year. The decision marked a quiet retreat from the multiplayer genre for a studio more traditionally associated with single-player action titles and franchise-driven blockbusters. For fans who had invested in the Survival Pass, the exofighter roster, or the intricate time-travel narrative, the announcement closed a chapter on a title that, despite its ambitious PvPvE design and dinosaur-filled spectacle, never found the critical or commercial footing to sustain long-term development.