Even the company’s expectations have improved as interest in Resident Evil 9 appears to be much higher than anticipated.
Yesterday, Capcom saw a sharp rise in its share price, closing 9.82% higher than the previous day. Investors were pleased with the company’s third-quarter financial report, which showed increases of 30%, 75%, and 65% in net sales, operating profit, and ordinary profit, respectively. Net sales for the third quarter of the current fiscal year were $753 million; operating profit, $355 million; and ordinary profit, $338 million. The forecast for the full year is even better given the upcoming releases of Resident Evil: Requiem on February 27 and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection on March 13. Both games will be released before the end of Capcom’s fiscal year on March 31. With these titles, the publisher is targeting net sales of $1.2 billion, operating profit of $477 million, and ordinary profit of $458 million.
This is just the beginning of the publisher’s calendar year. Capcom already has two potentially successful games planned for the next fiscal year: the third-person action-adventure game Pragmata, an interesting new IP, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the long-awaited new installment in the Onimusha franchise. The former will be released on April 24, while the latter’s release date is still unknown. Of course, Capcom continues to rely on the consistent performance of its catalog titles. This fiscal year, Devil May Cry V was the best-performing title, likely due to significant price reductions.
Although Monster Hunter Wilds did not perform particularly well, it has sold more than 11 million copies since its release last February. Despite its recent decline in sales, it remains the studio’s fastest-selling game, surpassing its predecessor, Monster Hunter World, which took slightly longer to reach the same sales milestone. Perhaps the new PC patch, which improves performance, will reignite interest in Monster Hunter Wilds. Otherwise, it may be difficult to break Monster Hunter World’s record of over 22 million copies sold.
