Capcom recently revealed a comprehensive plan to transform its RE Engine into an innovative “AI-generation engine” to streamline the development process and enhance performance.
The RE Engine was initially created in 2014 for the production of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which was released in 2017. It is reported that over 2,000 developers currently utilize this engine (source: Eurogamer).
During Capcom’s annual tech conference, programmer Satoshi Ishida presented the future of the REX Project, aiming to further evolve the RE Engine for the upcoming generation of gaming (source: IGN, via GameBiz).
Ishida outlined the REX project’s objectives, which include expediting development, enhancing QA efficiency, facilitating new staff integration, and incorporating AI into the production workflow.
New features will be introduced, such as RE:Dox for standardized data processing, RE:UI for accelerated development tools, and RE:Log for ID-based logging. Additionally, updates will include the visual scripting tool RE:Flows, the revamped runtime core RE:Runtime, and an optimized execution framework, RE:C++.
The integration of AI into the RE Engine is intended to support development, code generation and interpretation, automated playtesting for debugging purposes, and performance optimization, ultimately enabling developers to collaborate with AI in game creation.
Some enhancements will be open-sourced to assist with AI training, with the ultimate goal of transforming RE into an “AI-generation game engine.”
Capcom has emphasized that they do not plan to incorporate generative AI assets into their games but rather utilize AI to boost efficiency and productivity in game development.
The development team is currently exploring various applications of AI across different departments, including graphics, sound, and programming.
Furthermore, Resident Evil Requiem was featured in a demo of Nvidia’s DLSS 5 technology, which received criticism for using AI to enhance character models, including protagonist Grace Ashcroft.