A report by Kotaku has revealed that Capcom Vancouver has shut down. The studio first opened in 2005 and was famous for creating the goofy survival zombie game Dead Rising.
According to the statement by a representative of Capcom, the closure was “as a result of reviewing titles in development at Capcom Vancouver, Capcom has decided to cancel the development projects at this studio and will concentrate development of major titles in Japan.”
Capcom Vancouver, also known as Blue Castle Games, were one of the results of the era where Japanese publishers invested heavily in western studios in the previous generation. Yes, the same era where Capcom let a western studio reboot Devil May Cry to mixed reception.
While Dead Rising 1 and 2 had quite a success, its following games were just decent. Last year, the developers created the new revival of Puzzle Fighter, now a free-to-play mobile game that has since been discontinued after less than six months of operation.
Games developed in-house in Japan like Resident Evil VII and Monster Hunter: World has been performing very well in comparison. Monster Hunter: World is now the company’s best-selling game.
We're sad to announce that effective today, Capcom Vancouver has suspended operations. We want to express our deepest thanks to our team and our fans for all your support.
— Capcom Vancouver (@CapcomVancouver) September 18, 2018
We wish the best of luck to the 158 individuals affected by the closure. Canada has a great talent pool of game developers, and hosted many development studios too. So hopefully everyone there will land on their feet soon.
Via Kotaku