Capcom's games keep selling beyond their release year
Capcom plans, develops and sells games for consoles and PCs. Its series, including Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter, reach players around the world.
An earlier game sells another 2.6 million units in a year
People continue buying a game after its release year. Across Capcom’s annual unit sales, purchases of those earlier titles account for a substantial share.
Earlier releases account for more than four in five units
DATA VIEW
More than four in five units were catalog titles
FY2026 consumer unit sales, including distribution titles. New means released in the current fiscal year; catalog means released in an earlier fiscal year. The categories match the earnings supplement p.7 linked above.
Unit sales
Catalog83.7%New16.3%
The published units are shown in increments of 10,000; displayed components do not always add exactly to the total.
More opportunities to buy a game and discover its series
Capcom describes a model connecting new-title and catalog sales. Someone who discovers a series through a new game or a media adaptation can also choose earlier entries. Alongside development, the company combines digital distribution, pricing and marketing to encourage those sales (earnings supplement p.6; growth strategy p.8).
Reaching players beyond a game’s release year
Capcom’s stated sales and IP strategy: digital selling above, building awareness of the series below.
Capcom development
Create games for PCs and consoles
Release→
Games available for sale
New titlesReleased in the current fiscal year
↓Next fiscal year
Catalog titlesReleased in an earlier fiscal year
Digital sales→Pricing and promotion
PC and console players
Choose and buy new or earlier games
Giving the same series more ways to reach people
Characters and worlds
Extend the IP→
Media, esports and more
Build awareness→
People discovering the series
Aim: grow the game’s fan base and buyers
Arrows show the company’s activities and aims. They do not measure purchases caused by each activity or flows of revenue.
Extending digital sales across PCs and overseas markets
Digital distribution lets Capcom offer older games without relying solely on boxed stock on retail shelves. Winning purchases also involves development for supported platforms and decisions about pricing and marketing in each market.
DATA VIEW
The same unit sales, viewed by format, platform and geography
Shares of FY2026 total consumer units. PC digital is included in digital, while overseas is a separate, overlapping classification. These three shares do not form a composition that adds to 100%.
93.0%Digital
54.5%PC digital
89.9%Outside Japan
Developing the next games while earlier titles keep selling
Adding new games and supported platforms requires people to make them, along with the development tools those people use.
THE VIEW AFTER THE NUMBERS
What the numbers suggest
At Capcom, making new games runs alongside the work of finding buyers for games already released. Resident Evil 7 is one example of those continuing sales.
The company sells its catalog digitally, adjusts its approach to platforms and markets, and uses media, esports and other IP activities to help people discover its series. Its explanation for sustained catalog sales brings together that selling and promotion with continued new-game development.
TOMY develops toys and creates opportunities for people to discover, try and compete with them. In the year ended March 2026, group advertising expenses were ¥19.133bn and R&D was ¥6.723bn. BEYBLADE provides a concrete example through interchangeable top parts, store events, tournaments and online play. Brand-level costs and returns for individual activities are not disclosed, so audience reach cannot be translated into a profit contribution.
