Ōkami 2 Is Being Made in RE Engine, Confirmed

The announcement of a sequel to the cult classic Ōkami at last year's The Game Awards sparked immediate speculation about its development engine. IGN has now exclusively confirmed that the sequel will indeed be developed using Capcom's RE Engine, following discussions with key project leads.

In an in-depth interview, Machine Head Works producer Kiyohiko Sakata affirmed the use of RE Engine. He detailed the collaboration between Capcom, Clovers, and Machine Head Works, stating:

The way that Machine Head Works is involved now, working together with Capcom and Clovers, is that of course we have Capcom as the major IP holder of Ōkami, deciding the major direction of the games. And we have Clovers as this development lead for this project. Machine Head Works comes in by having the experience of both working with Capcom previously on several titles, so we know what Capcom needs to create the game. That's something that Machine Head Works has the experience and knowledge of. We also have the experience of working with Kamiya-san before as well. So we have both experience of Capcom and Clovers, and we're acting sort of like a bridge between Clovers and Capcom.

In addition to this, we also have the experience of working with the game engine that we are using for this project, RE Engine. So Clovers' developers haven't had any experiences with using this engine, but Machine Head Works have experience of using it. So we're aiding them. Also under us, Machine Head Works, we have people who have actually had experience of working with the original Ōkami game and also will be aiding us with the development of this title.

When asked about the specific advantages of using RE Engine for the Ōkami sequel, Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi responded affirmatively, stating: "Yes." He elaborated further, "However, of course we cannot go into much detail at this point in time. But we from Capcom, we believe that without RE Engine at this point we wouldn't be able to realize [director Hideki] Kamiya-san's artistic dreams for this project."

Director Hideki Kamiya also chimed in, emphasizing the engine's expressive capabilities: "So RE Engine is of course famous for showing the best of the games that they have. Very, very good expressively. And so we believe people are also expecting and awaiting the RE Engine level of quality now for this game."

Later in the interview, the leads hinted at the potential of RE Engine, with Sakata suggesting that it could allow them to achieve goals they had for the original Ōkami but couldn't realize at the time. He said, "With today's technology, we are able to achieve all of this that we were trying to achieve back in the days and perhaps even greater now, now that we have the RE Engine as well working with us."

RE Engine, or Reach for the Moon Engine, was initially developed for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and has since been utilized in many of Capcom's flagship titles, including the Resident Evil series, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Dragon's Dogma. While most games developed with RE Engine feature a realistic art style, the prospect of combining it with Ōkami's distinctive art style is particularly thrilling. Capcom is also developing a new engine called REX, whose technology is being gradually integrated into the RE Engine, potentially influencing the upcoming Ōkami sequel.

For more insights from our interview with the leads of the Ōkami sequel, you can read the full Q&A here.