Since the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, Japanese developers have faced challenges in keeping up with their Western counterparts. Yoko Taro, creator of the NieR series, believes that Japanese developers struggle with adapting technology from overseas due to various reasons. In an interview with IGN, Stellar Blade creative director Hyung-Tae Kim discussed how Japanese developers have had difficulty implementing Western rendering systems as they are accustomed to developing their own engines. This has resulted in Japanese developers being late in incorporating rendering tools and middleware from the West, with many schools still not teaching these skills to new developers.
Despite these challenges, some Japanese developers have been successful in developing great engines. For example, CAPCOM has created the RE Engine, which powers a variety of games such as Resident Evil, Monster Hunter Rise, Devil May Cry 5, Street Fighter 6, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. As Unreal Engine 5 sets a new benchmark for visual quality, it remains to be seen whether Japanese developers will utilize it for their future games or if any proprietary engine can match its quality. The continuous evolution of technology will likely play a significant role in the future of Japanese game development.
