Capcom plans to turn RE Engine into an "AI-generation game engine"

Capcom plans to expand its proprietary RE Engine with AI-assisted development tools as part of a long-term project called REX. Programmer Satoshi Ishida outlined the direction during Capcom Open Conference RE: 2026, describing a future where developers could work alongside AI during production.

The company refers to its goal as an "AI-generation game engine," but that does not mean Capcom plans to automatically create complete games with AI. The current focus is on programming, development tools, testing and making large projects easier to manage.

REX, short for RE neXt Engine, is not being built as a completely separate replacement for RE Engine. Capcom plans to improve the existing technology over time while introducing new systems as development needs change.

Ishida pointed to the growing size of modern games and the amount of data developers now have to process. More than 2,000 developers use RE Engine, so Capcom also wants its tools to be easier for teams with different levels of technical experience.

RE Engine first appeared with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in 2017. It has since been used across major Capcom series including Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter.

development data under common rules, while RE focuses on making engine tools easier to use and optimize.

RE is designed to handle large numbers of animated objects or characters more efficiently. RE aims to make gameplay ideas easier to implement before they are turned into standardized programming code.

Capcom believes these changes could also make parts of RE Engine easier for AI systems to understand. The company is exploring ideas such as AI-assisted programming and automated testing that could help find bugs during development.

Capcom has previously drawn a line between using AI to improve development and putting AI-generated material directly into its games. The company has said it does not plan to use AI-generated assets as finished game content.

That means REX is mainly a development initiative rather than a plan to fill future games with AI-generated characters, environments or artwork. Capcom has also acknowledged concerns around copyright, data security and the specialist knowledge needed to use generative AI responsibly.

REX is already being developed as the next stage of RE Engine, but Capcom has not announced when its wider AI-focused tools will become part of commercial production.

The company describes the project as an ongoing evolution rather than a single engine update with a fixed launch date. Existing Capcom games will continue using RE Engine while REX develops alongside it.