Capcom has revealed that it had its best-ever Q1 sales in 2021, thanks to sales from major releases like Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil Village. Capcom has had an incredibly strong year so far, as the new sales figures don’t take into account the numbers brought in by Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, which has already shipped a million copies.
The 2021 gaming schedule has been hit hard by the pandemic. A lot of the titles that were due to be released in 2020 were so close to completion that the developers were able to get them out of the door on time, but the games set to be released this year haven’t been so lucky, and there has been a long procession of delays throughout the industry. Capcom has still managed to ship a number of high-profile games in 2021, but it wasn’t immune from delays, as Resident Evil Re:Verse was pushed back to 2022.
The big Capcom titles of 2021 have been a huge hit for the company. Capcom has issued a press release, which confirms that the company had its best-ever Q1 sales in 2021. The company’s net sales were up 104.1% year-over-year while operating income was up 120.4% year-over-year, ordinary income was up 125.0% year-over-year, and net income attributable to owners of the parent company was up 121.9% year-over-year.
Capcom believes these strong sales were driven by two major releases in 2021. Resident Evil Village launched on May 7, but it had already won the hearts and minds of the Internet before it launched thanks to the multitude of Lady Dimitrescue memes. The game combined the first-person perspective and characters from Resident Evil 7 with the combat and exploration from Resident Evil 4 into a product that resonated with fans. Resident Evil Village has already sold 4.5 million copies to date.
Monster Hunter Rise launched exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on March 25, where it was met with critical acclaim for streamlining the gameplay to a degree never seen before in the series. Monster Hunter Rise was technically released in the previous quarter, but it had strong sales that continued into Q1. Capcom also heavily pushed its eSports businesses in 2021, leading to an increase in digital sales of its games.
Capcom’s Q2 has already got off to a good start, with Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. The only issue is that the company doesn’t have anything else announced for the rest of the year, especially now that Resident Evil Re:Verse has been delayed. It’s possible that Capcom has games coming this year that haven’t been announced yet, but the company might have to live on continued support from its existing Monster Hunter and Resident Evil titles for the rest of 2021.
