But we don’t know if it’s actually profitable yet
Resident Evil 7, an excellent game that’s full of spooks and scares, surely has developer/publisher Capcom on pins and needles for different reasons. This installment is a significant departure from the classic take on Resident Evil, and that’s quite the gamble when you consider that Capcom had to front a lot of money to create this game. Without the safety net of continuing narrative arcs and known protagonists, it’s really only the franchise name that could guarantee some sales.
That gamble has seemingly paid off. As part of an investors Q&A session, Capcom revealed that Resident Evil 7 has recovered its development costs. The exact figure wasn’t disclosed, but its 3 million units shipped has canceled out whatever it took to make the game.
But that isn’t all that Capcom expects to squeeze out of Resident Evil 7. There’s still a projection that it’ll hit 4 million units shipped, as this is cited as an example of a game that has a “continuous long tail.” Also, DLC sales will contribute to the overall revenue, even though the bulk of it will be generated from the base game.
However, this isn’t to say that Resident Evil 7 is actually profitable yet. Capcom stopped short of saying that. Resident Evil 7 was anchored by a fairly significant marketing campaign, and we don’t know if that has been offset. Still, sales appear to be right in line with projections at this point, so it doesn’t seem like anyone is disappointed with its performance thus far.
