Mobile is still seeing a spectacular rise, and even publishers that aren’t normally associated with mobile games are starting to get onboard. Nintendo struck gold with its recent release of Miitomo, and Sony is set to release several PlayStation games through a newly created subsidiary. Now Capcom, famous for hit franchises such as Street Fighter and Monster Hunter, is joining in the action. The company recently announced a reorganization of its mobile business under a new name, Capcom Mobile Co.
The goal of this new subsidiary will be to release games exclusively for smartphones, especially ones based on popular Capcom licenses such as Mega Man, Sengoku Basara and Monster Hunter. These games are expected to debut sometime before March 2017, along with two currently unannounced titles.
“With international economic growth and the explosive spread of smartphones as a backdrop, the mobile games market is expected to rapidly grow: from $27.5 billion in 2015 to $37.4 billion in 2019 globally,” the company explained in the announcement. “Mobile content is a driver of growth in the game market as well as an important factor in Capcom’s growth strategy.”
Capcom has also noted that it will “continue to maximize revenues by proactively releasing popular IP in the high-growth mobile games market.” Beeline Interactive, a company devoted to developing mobile games like the free-to-play title The Smurfs’ Village, is also taking part in the deal.
This isn’t the first time that the company has dabbled in the mobile market, as it has released Mega Man, Street Fighter and others in the past. However, this provides a renewed focus on the market, with a strategy to develop games specifically for mobile instead of porting them over from other platforms.
