Capcom Getting Serious About Mobile Games, Planning Mega Man and Monster Hunter Titles

Capcom has established a dedicated mobile business division to "produce hit titles both domestically and abroad by aggressively utilising" its most popular properties.

In a post on its investor relations website, the Japanese company stated it will release four titles by March 31, 2017. These games will be based on the Sengoku Basara, Monster Hunter, and Mega Man franchises.

"With international economic growth and the explosive spread of smartphones as a backdrop, the mobile games market is expected to rapidly grow from $27.5 billion in 2015 to $37.4 billion in 2019 globally," it said.

"Mobile content is a driver of growth in the game market as well as an important factor in Capcom's growth strategy. Under these circumstances, Capcom [has] established its Mobile Business Division in order to grow its business in-step with the market and continue offering exciting content."

Capcom also plans to "strengthen licensed content in Asia in accordance with their new mobile strategy." Currently, the company's overview is described as "development and distribution of smartphone content for the Japanese and Asian markets," so it is unclear whether these mobile games will be available in the west.

Capcom has previously re-released classic Mega Man and adapted existing Monster Hunter games for mobile devices. These new titles, however, are indicated as being completely new.

In January, Capcom CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto said 2016 will be a "year of even greater heights" for the company. Although this is partly due to an "exciting lineup" of games, beginning with Street Fighter V, he also highlighted plans to pursue the mobile market in a meaningful way.

Despite this, Tsujimoto stressed Capcom's "commitment to continuing to develop games for core users around the world will not change."

On March 24, Sony also announced the formation of a new company dedicated to making games for smart devices. Called ForwardWorks Corporation, it will officially open its doors on April 1, 2016 and aim to leverage PlayStation franchises and characters for its titles. Despite what the opening date may suggests, it is not an April Fools' Day joke.