Capcom announces plans to transform the RE Engine into an AI-generation game engine — “Our goal is a future where we create games with AI”
Resident Evil and Street Fighter developer Capcom has revealed big changes coming to its RE Engine, which they plan to gradually improve and turn into an “AI generation game engine.”
On October 2, Capcom hosted its own technology conference, titled “Capcom Open Conference RE: 2026.” One of the highlights of the event was the presentation given by programmer Satoshi Ishida, titled “The Prospects and Future of the REX Project, Further Evolving the RE Engine for the Next Generation.” The purpose of this presentation was to describe several major changes coming to the RE Engine, which will come in the form of a multi-stage improvement project called “REX”.
As reported by Japanese media GameBizIshida mentioned three major problems that Capcom currently faces when it comes to game development: first, games are now so massive that simple processes have become extremely time-consuming; the increase in the number of employees requires an engine that is easy for everyone to use; and finally, “the successful integration of AI technology into development workflows has become an essential condition for streamlining future development.”
The GameBiz report confirmed that REX was created to help solve these problems by improving game development efficiency, game performance, tools, quality assurance, and more. Capcom felt that, rather than creating an entirely new engine from scratch, incrementally adding these improvements over time is the best way to help evolve the RE Engine into the next generation.
We won’t go into detail about all the specific improvements included in the REX program, but Capcom is making at least some of them open source for the purpose of training AI. More interestingly, AI fits into Capcom’s broader, long-term goal of transforming the RE Engine into an “AI-generation game engine” through its REX improvements.
GameBiz said REX unifies the entire RE Engine system under the “world’s most popular programming language,” meaning it’s equal parts easier for humans to use and easier for AI to understand. Capcom’s goal is to build a future where it “makes games with AI”; Keeping REX in mind, this seems to mean that Capcom is using artificial intelligence to speed up and streamline certain processes to make development easier, not necessarily to generate assets or wholesale artwork.
In the past, Capcom has publicly opposed the use of AI to create assets, but has confirmed that it will use artificial intelligence as a tool to optimize the way it creates games.
“We will not implement AI-generated assets in our games.” ” Capcom said at a general meeting of shareholders in March 2026. “However, we plan to use it proactively as a technology that helps improve the efficiency and productivity of the game development process. To this end, we are currently exploring ways to implement it in various areas, including graphics, sound and programming.”
This is the latest big news from Capcom after Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi revealed plans were already in place to prepare the series for when RE remakes catch up with modern games, saying the series was being developed on “two tracks.”
It’s been a big year for the company; This year alone, Capcom has produced three critically acclaimed titles in Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword, as well as two film adaptations in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil and Legendary’s Street Fighter film, scheduled for theatrical release on October 16, 2026.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience in the gaming and entertainment industry, she has a strong background in the fighting game community, influencer news and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
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