Capcom has reported record profits, driven by Monster Hunter and Resident Evil

Capcom has announced record profits in its latest annual financial results, driven by sales of new games such as Monster Hunter Rise, and catalog sales of Resident Evil and Monster Hunter: World.

For the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, net sales were up 17% YoY, operating income up 51.6% at 34.6 billion yen ($317m), and ordinary income up 52% at 35 billion yen ($321m).

The figures represent the eighth consecutive year of operating income growth for Capcom, and the fourth consecutive year of record-high profits.

Monster Hunter Rise for Nintendo Switch delivered strong sales of over 4 million units shipped worldwide by March 31 (Capcom said it had shipped 5 million by April 5).

Meanwhile, catalog titles demonstrated their long product lives and drove up profits, including Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and Resident Evil 2. Capcom said Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition “performed well” on next-generation platforms.

Moving forward, Capcom expects even more growth during its current fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, with net sales forecast to be up 5%, driven by sales of Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil Village.

The company said it is working to increase its development personnel and expand its pipeline of games by both utilizing existing IP and creating new properties. The publisher announced its first new IP in 8 years, Pragmata, last summer.

Following the release of Rise in March, Capcom stock soared to an all-time high in Tokyo. The publisher’s latest tentpole release, Resident Evil Village, released this month, and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is coming to Switch on July 9.

Resident Evil Village enjoyed a strong debut on PC this weekend, comfortably smashing the series’ record for concurrent players on Steam.

The Capcom title debuted with a peak concurrent player count of 101,726, which is significantly higher than Resident Evil 2’s 74,024 peak, and over five times more than Resident Evil 7’s 18,211, according to SteamCharts.

Capcom has said it hopes Village will become the franchise’s best-selling entry, following strong sales of the game’s last numbered entry (8.5m), which is its no. 1 title.