Capcom is on an absolute roll. After the massive success of Resident Evil: Requiem and the breakout hit Pragmata, the company has now struck gold again with the long-awaited return of its samurai fantasy series. Onimusha: Way of the Sword launched on September 4 and has already sold over 1 million copies in its first day, according to an official announcement from the publisher.
This marks a triumphant comeback for a franchise that has been dormant for two decades. The last mainline entry, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, hit PlayStation 2 back in 2006. Now, players are once again stepping into the shoes of the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who must battle through a demon-infested, supernatural version of Edo-period Kyoto.
The game has been a hit with both critics and players alike. It currently holds an 85 Metacritic score and an 8.7 user rating, putting it right up there with other recent Capcom successes like Pragmata and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. On Steam, it peaked at over 85,000 concurrent players, a strong indicator of its popularity.
But the real headline is the sales figure. To put it in perspective, the previous bestseller in the series, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, shipped a total of 2.1 million units over its lifetime. Way of the Sword has already sold nearly half of that in just one day. With momentum like this, it's almost certain to surpass that record and become the best-selling entry in the franchise's history.
The entire Onimusha series has now crossed the 10 million copies sold mark since its debut in 2001, thanks to this latest installment's explosive start.
Capcom's recent strategy of reviving older IPs is clearly paying off. In a statement celebrating the game's success, the company said it is "focusing on re-activating IPs that haven't had a new title launch recently." This suggests we could see more comebacks from beloved franchises like Dead Rising or Dino Crisis in the future. One confirmed revival is Okami, which is getting a sequel with original director Hideki Kamiya back at the helm.
With Onimusha proving that even a 20-year-old series can still draw a massive audience, Capcom's future looks brighter than ever. Fans of classic action-adventure games have plenty to be excited about.
