Although information on Capcom's sequel to Okami is still in short supply, it's been confirmed that the game will be making use of the company's in-house RE Engine. The original Okami, first released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, was developed by the now-defunct Clover Studio, led by Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya - and though the game had its devoted fans, the only sequel that it received in the years after was the DS-exclusive Okamiden. Now, however, a new Okami sequel is in development, again led by Hideki Kamiya and his newly established studio, Clovers.

As has been confirmed in an interview with IGN, the sequel to Okami will be making use of Capcom's proprietary RE Engine - the same engine that's been used for recent and Capcom releases like Dragon's Dogma 2, Street Fighter 6, and Monster Hunter Wilds. The choice to use the RE Engine was confirmed by Kiyohiko Sakata, a producer at Machine Head Works, a studio which is assisting in the development of the Okami sequel, and Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi.

Okami 2 Will Be Created In RE Engine, Confirmed By Machine Head Works Producer Kiyohiko Sakata

The Okami Sequel Is A Collaboration Between Clovers, Capcom, And Machine Head Works, Using The RE Engine

As explained by Sakata, Machine Head Works is "acting sort of like a bridge between Clovers and Capcom" while working on the Okami sequel and additionally assisting the main developers, Clovers, in using the RE Engine. When asked by IGN what the RE Engine is offering for the development of the sequel, the developers were unable to give specific details but stressed that the engine is the right tool for the job, and will allow the Okami sequel to outdo the 2006 original.

Hirabayashi, for example, stated that the RE Engine would be vital for realizing director Hideki Kamiya's "artistic dreams" for the sequel, with Kamiya himself saying that "RE Engine is of course famous for showing the best of the games that they have." However, while the developers of the Okami sequel are confident in the capabilities of the RE Engine, some fans of the original game are worried that it might not be exactly suited to the game's needs.

Fans Are Concerned That Okami 2 Being Created In RE Engine Could Be Problematic

Some Fans Are Pointing Towards Performance Issues In Recent RE Engine Games

While the RE Engine is mostly well-regarded, some fans on places like Reddit are concerned about what its use might mean for the Okami sequel's performance. Recently released games that use the engine, like Street Fighter 6, Dragon's Dogma 2, and the Monster Hunter Wilds, have been noted to have significant performance issues on PC, in part because of how heavily each game taxes a device's U. While it's too early to say how the Okami sequel might turn out, or if it's going to be as ambitious as Capcom's recent games, performance is a notable concern.

It's hard to say, from an outside perspective, what kind of decisions go into using one game engine over another, but RE Engine games have seemed to struggle more notably when dealing with wide-open areas populated with numerous NPCs, like the open world of DD2, World Tour mode in SF6, or the more open maps of Wilds. As Capcom continues to work with Clovers and Machine Head Works on the long-awaited sequel to Okami, any potential issues with using the RE Engine can hopefully be fixed by the time of the game's release.

Sources: IGN, Turbostrider27/Reddit