Capcom programmer Satoshi Ishida detailed the company's plans to integrate artificial intelligence into its RE Engine as part of the REX Project during the Capcom Open Conference RE: 2026 on October 2. The initiative seeks to address challenges posed by the growing scale and complexity of modern game development, including time-consuming processes and the need for more accessible tools for large, diverse teams. Capcom's long-term goal for the REX Project is to transform the RE Engine into an "AI-generation game engine," focusing on collaborative creation with AI.
The REX Project is an incremental upgrade to the existing RE Engine, which has powered over 27 Capcom titles since its debut with Resident Evil 7 in 2017. Ishida identified three primary pressures driving this evolution: the extensive data and scope of current games lead to slower iteration times, the engine's user base of over 2,000 developers requires improved usability, and the rapid advancement of AI technology necessitates its integration into development workflows.
Capcom's approach to AI integration centers on improving development efficiency, performance, tools, and quality assurance. This includes systems like RE:Dox for standardizing data processing, RE:UI for AI-assisted optimization of development tools, and RE:Log for an ID-based logging system. The company is also developing RE:Flows, a visual scripting tool that converts to standard code, and RE:Runtime, a reworked core for batch processing of numerous characters. Some of these technologies, such as RE:Dox and RE:Log, have been made open-source to facilitate AI training.
While Capcom aims for a future where it "creates games together with AI," the company has previously stated it will not use AI to generate game assets. In a March 2026 shareholders' meeting, Capcom affirmed its intention to use AI as a contributing technology to enhance efficiency and productivity in areas like graphics, sound, and programming, while maintaining that human creativity remains central to the gaming experience. The ongoing REX Project, therefore, focuses on streamlining processes and supporting developers rather than replacing creative roles with generative AI.