Capcom Wants to Revive Devil May Cry and Other Dormant Franchises After Onimusha’s Blockbuster Launch
Capcom’s dormant franchises just got a lot less dormant. On September 4, 2026, Onimusha: Way of the Sword launched simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, and it sold over 1 million copies on day one alone, the first mainline entry in the series since 2006’s Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. That launch pushed the franchise’s lifetime sales past 10 million units, and Capcom is now pointing to the comeback as proof that its older IP still has plenty of life left. In its latest financial materials, the publisher confirmed it’s actively looking at which other shelved series deserve the same treatment, and the list of candidates reads like a wishlist for longtime Capcom fans.
What Capcom Actually Said
Capcom didn’t name every title on its shortlist, but the company’s own wording was clear about the strategy. Alongside its regular slate of major new releases each year, Capcom said it’s focusing on “re-activating IPs that haven’t had a new title launch recently,” with the goal of maximizing corporate value by leveraging what it called its “rich library of content.” In practice, that means a mix of sequels, remakes, and ports, the same playbook that turned Onimusha: Way of the Sword into a hit two decades after the series went quiet.
The Franchises Capcom Could Bring Back
Fans and outlets have been quick to speculate about which series are next in line. Based on how long each one has been dormant and how Capcom has talked about its back catalog, a handful of names keep coming up:
- Devil May Cry, with no mainline entry since Devil May Cry 5 in 2019
- Ace Attorney, without a new mainline case in roughly a decade
- Dead Rising, whose 2006 original just got a Deluxe Remaster, its first real spotlight since 2016
- Dino Crisis, dormant since 2003 aside from a recent Steam re-release
- Lost Planet, quiet since 2013
- Breath of Fire and Viewtiful Joe, both untouched for well over a decade
Devil May Cry 5 launched in 2019 and remains one of Capcom’s best-performing action games; series veterans are hoping it’s not the franchise’s last word.
Devil May Cry Leads the Wishlist
Of everything on that list, Devil May Cry draws the loudest reaction. Devil May Cry 5 has sold more than 12.3 million copies since its 2019 launch, according to Capcom’s own sales figures, making it one of the publisher’s most successful action games. The series hasn’t gone entirely quiet either, Devil May Cry 5 got a fresh “Devil Hunter Edition” port for Switch 2 earlier this year, and Netflix’s anime adaptation was recently renewed for a third and final season. None of that confirms a Devil May Cry 6 is actually in development, but it does show Capcom has kept the franchise warm while it decides on a next move.
Dead Rising Already Tested the Comeback
Dead Rising offers the clearest blueprint for what a Capcom revival looks like in practice. The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, a from-the-ground-up rebuild of the 2006 original, gave the zombie-mall sandbox its first real spotlight in years and served as a low-risk way to gauge whether players still wanted more. If Onimusha’s numbers are any indication, a full-blown Dead Rising 5 could be next once Capcom decides the remaster did its job.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster rebuilt the 2006 original and is widely seen as a trial run ahead of a possible new mainline entry.
None of this comes with a timeline. Capcom hasn’t confirmed release windows, or even development, for any Devil May Cry, Ace Attorney, or Dead Rising follow-up, and everything beyond Okami‘s already-announced sequel and Mega Man: Dual Override remains speculation built on Capcom’s own language. But with Onimusha: Way of the Sword proving that a 20-year gap doesn’t have to kill a franchise’s momentum, Capcom’s dormant library suddenly looks less like a graveyard and more like a backlog waiting to be worked through.
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