Ōkami 2 Is Being Made in RE Engine, Confirmed

Following the exciting announcement of a sequel to the beloved game Ōkami at last year's The Game Awards, speculation was rife that the game would utilize Capcom's RE Engine. IGN can now confirm these rumors after conducting an exclusive interview with key figures involved in the project.

In our detailed discussion, Machine Head Works producer Kiyohiko Sakata confirmed the use of RE Engine for the upcoming sequel. He shed light on the collaborative dynamics between the involved studios, 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 the 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 advantages of using RE Engine for the Ōkami sequel, Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi affirmed its importance, saying, "Yes." He further explained, "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 reputation for quality: "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 team hinted at the potential of RE Engine to fulfill ambitions that were beyond reach during the development of the original Ōkami. Sakata remarked, "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, known formally as Reach for the Moon Engine, was initially developed for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Since its inception, Capcom has employed it across their major titles, including the Resident Evil series, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Dragon's Dogma. While most games using RE Engine have adopted a realistic art style, the prospect of integrating Ōkami's unique visual flair with this engine is thrilling. Additionally, Capcom is currently developing a new successor engine, REX, which is gradually being incorporated into RE Engine. This integration may introduce elements of REX into the Ōkami sequel.

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