Capcom’s REX Project Targets RE ENGINE’s Growing Bottlenecks
REX targets data, development tools and runtime performance, while Capcom explores AI-assisted program generation and testing.
Capcom’s REX project aims to ease growing development bottlenecks in RE ENGINE without replacing the engine. Programmer Satoshi Ishida outlined the plan at CAPCOM Open Conference RE:2026 on Oct. 2, bringing together work on data handling, development tools and runtime performance with longer-term plans for AI-assisted development, as described in coverage of the presentation.
Capcom began developing RE ENGINE in 2014, and the engine first appeared in a commercial release with Resident Evil 7 in 2017. It has since powered more than 27 Capcom titles and is used by over 2,000 developers across countries and technical backgrounds. As games become more complex and data-heavy, routine changes can take longer and development tools face greater demands.
REX targets data, tools and runtime work
RE:Dox aims to standardize how RE ENGINE handles different kinds of game data, with the goal of improving loading and editing speeds. RE:UI is intended to use AI to optimize Capcom’s development software, reducing unnecessary memory use and processing while helping interfaces stay responsive as the tools grow more complex.
RE:Log changes how the development environment stores and retrieves logs. Rather than repeatedly handling large blocks of text, it can use compact identifiers to call up relevant information when needed. Capcom says the approach reduces the amount of data being handled and makes logs easier to search, analyze, edit and translate. RE:Dox and RE:Log are already available as open-source projects.
RE:Flows focuses on gameplay logic. Designers can build that logic visually, and the system translates their work into a standardized programming language. This can help teams implement gameplay ideas without manually coding every element, but the system translates designer-authored logic rather than inventing mechanics on its own.
RE:Runtime is aimed at performance when many characters and objects are active at once. It is designed to animate groups together instead of processing each real-time animation separately, while managing memory and processing more efficiently. Alongside it, RE:C++ translates developer-friendly code into a form optimized for faster machine processing.
AI remains a development goal
Capcom sees a shared programming foundation as a way for people and AI systems to work with the same development tools. Longer-term possibilities include AI assistance with coding, generating portions of a game during production, running tests and playing builds to find bugs. Capcom has not announced a timetable for these capabilities. Ishida also said the company plans to make some technologies available online for people to use in AI training.
Capcom has said it will not use AI-generated assets in its games, keeping that policy distinct from its plans for development support. Its VP of game development platform and AI solutions, Shinichi Inoue, said the company was not using AI to create art and described the broader goal as helping unlock creators’ potential, as VGC reported. Capcom’s position on AI-generated assets provides further context.
Which part of REX could help a large development team most, shared data handling, faster tools, grouped runtime processing or AI-assisted testing? As RE:Dox and RE:Log are already open source, stay connected for updates on the tools and REX’s development on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam and Telegram.
