Capcom marked its 43-year anniversary on June 11, and to honor the occasion, president and COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto—working alongside founder Kenzo Tsujimoto—spoke with Famitsu extensively about the company’s origins and its journey as a game developer. A notable discussion point was Capcom’s deliberate move away from individual-driven development, which relies heavily on a single creator’s vision and expertise, toward a team-driven approach.
The company’s leading franchises, including Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter, have sustained their popularity and consistently delivered successful titles long after their initial releases. Tsujimoto credits Capcom’s organizational evolution as a key factor behind this enduring success.
“In gaming, once a title becomes a series, it often becomes overly dependent on a specific developer, turning into what you might call an individual-driven project,” he explains. “If that person doesn’t lead the next installment, there’s no follow-up. The series’ direction becomes tied to one creator’s ideas.”
Capcom’s development process operated similarly for years, but Tsujimoto notes that the company began recognizing the limitations of this auteur-driven model, particularly as a publicly traded entity with responsibilities to shareholders.
“We discussed this with the key figures behind each franchise and ultimately decided to abandon that approach,” he says. “Instead, we settled on rebuilding every title from the ground up. We were willing to accept temporary sales dips, and by adopting a team-based development model, Capcom underwent a dramatic transformation.”
Tsujimoto believes this shift has proven highly beneficial, enabling regular new entries in Capcom’s flagship series. It also ensures that knowledge and expertise are passed down through generations of development teams, securing each franchise’s long-term viability. He also emphasizes the importance of this approach for new IPs, citing 2026’s Pragmata as a prime example of Capcom’s team-oriented structure.
When discussing creator-driven games, figures like Hideo Kojima and Yoko Taro come to mind immediately. These types of IPs, closely associated with a single creator, can foster incredibly dedicated fanbases. However, from a corporate standpoint, this model carries risks, such as a star creator leaving, which could leave valuable franchises in limbo. The negative reactions from fans when companies reboot franchises without original developers highlight that the issue extends beyond ownership rights.
Given these challenges, it’s understandable why Capcom made a conscious effort to reduce its reliance on auteur-driven development, and it’s likely not the only studio pursuing this change. From a gamer’s perspective, though, there’s a sense of loss as this eccentric, highly individualistic approach fades from mainstream, large-scale game development.
Notably, Hideki Kamiya, a former Capcom developer and another prominent example of creator-led design, has previously expressed disappointment about the industry’s shift toward a more “product-focused” than “creator-focused” mindset. This sentiment was part of his motivation for founding the independent studio CLOVERS, aimed at supporting games that reflect their creators’ unique visions.