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Always darkest before the Pawn.
Later this year, we're going to see Capcom's incredible and immersive RPG, Dragon's Dogma 2, arrive on the Switch 2, alongside a massive new expansion called Dark Arisen. Given the game was subject to plenty of criticism for how it ran on both console and PC at launch back in 2024, the fact it can run on Nintendo's hardware at all feels like nothing short of a miracle. But it's not the first Capcom game to turn heads when arriving on Switch 2: Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem both run flawlessly on the console, and even Monster Hunter Wilds is confirmed to launch on the device soon.
"The RE engine, which we're developing our games on now, is something that has actually been a really great fit for Nintendo Switch 2," explains producer Naoto Oyama, when I ask how Capcom found the process of porting Dragon's Dogma 2 to Switch 2. "As you mentioned, we've had some really well-received Nintendo Switch 2 versions of major titles - such as Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem this year - and, because this is an internal [Capcom-owned] engine, we've been able to accumulate knowledge and know-how from other teams. And that means that the improvements that are made to the engine with each title, and the different features that are added with new games, get to stay with us - and we get to benefit from them on future titles. It's a really positive cycle for us."
Capcom is also planning to release a variety of updates ahead of Dragon's Dogma 2's DLC to firm up the foundations of the game, and it seems the included optimisation improvements will have a cumulative positive effect on all versions of the title.
"We've been working not only to improve performance to let the game run on Switch 2, but to improve the current base game versions on other platforms, too," explains Oyama. "In particular, we've been trying to find as many small tweaks as we can make so we can build up and have a big performance improvement on consoles when it comes to Performance Mode itself. That's something we're aiming for with the late August title update that's in the roadmap; for Performance Mode on consoles will be able to reach 60 frames a second.
"That means that, commensurately, all that effort we've put into the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game also pays off in the Switch 2 version, and we're currently seeing a minimum 30 frames per second rate performance on that hardware (and, in many scenes, it's even higher!) So it's a little while to go until the game releases, but it's exceeding our expectations on Switch 2, and I hope the players agree that we've done a great job again with bringing this game to that platform."
If Capcom can pull off another great Switch 2 version of one of its tentpole games, and improve performance across all platforms, it might just be enough to undo the damage caused by Dragon's Dogma 2's shaky launch. It seems the pooled expertise of the publisher's developers and engineers is having a positive effect on pretty much every game Capcom has released in the past few years (up to and including last month's Devil May Cry 5 port on Switch 2). If this is what we can expect of the RE Engine going forward, it seems like everyone will benefit from the end result.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen arrives on all platforms, including Switch 2, on 9th October. Elsewhere in this same interview, Oyama and Kinoshita noted that "the best way to implement quality-of-life improvements? Don't impinge on the original experience, give the player more possibilities." They also chatted about following the legacy of Hideaki Itsuno, and how they feel the series is in safe hands, despite changes at Capcom.
English (US) ·