New ‘Mega Man: Dual Override’ Leads Capcom’s Efforts To Turn Blue Bomber Into A “Core IP”
Putting aside how the developer’s defacto mascot should have already been receiving such attention, Capcom is seemingly intent on following through on their recent promise to make Mega Man into a “core IP”, as evidenced by the fact their actually announcing of the new Mega Man: Dual Override.
One of, if not the few stand out reveals from the 2025 edition of The Game Awards, while Dual Override‘s debut trailer presented little in the way of gameplay gimmicks or potential enemy Robot Masters, it did confirm that the game will present players with both a proper 2D platforming entry set in the series’ Classic timeline as well as one of the better ‘design refreshes’ that Mega Man has ever seen.
Marking the first proper entry in both said timeline and the overall franchise since 2018’s Mega Man 11, players will have to wait just a little while longer before going up against Dr. Wily, as Mega Man: Dual Override is unfortunately not set to release until 2026.
But far from a completely out-of-left-field announcement, Capcom’s sudden revival of the all-but-officially-dead-and-buried franchise appears to be part of a larger initiative to revamp the franchise into one of their flagship IPS.
Detailing the plan in their end-of-year 2025 Integrated Report, Capcom COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto told investors:
“Our efforts are focused on core IP such as the Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Street Fighter franchises, and mapping out mainline series entries and sequels, remakes, new IP, and ports of content to the latest hardware. We consistently release two
to three major new titles each year, but recognize the need to grow our pipeline going forward.
“Capcom owns a wealth of globally popular brands, such as Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney. We aim to expand our user base and improve our performance through new releases, remakes, and ports of titles in these series to new hardware. By enhancing brand power and cultivating loyal fan bases, we will grow these into core IPs.”
Bleak as the idea may be that the company’s most iconic creation has been neglected to the point of needing ‘special care’, it is, as Mega Man fans will tell you, unfortunately the reality of the franchise’s current situation.
In the years following the release of Mega Man 11, which itself was the overall franchise’s first new entry since Mega Man 10 eight years prior, the only ‘new games’ the Blue Bomber received were its various anniversary collections (as available for every line except Mega Man Legends and constantly ported to each new console or operating system) and two mobile games, the abysmal, Japan-exclusive Mega Man Xover and the surprisingly robust Mega Man X DiVE (the latter of which has since been released in a non-mobile, non-monetized form) – a release schedule that is a far, far cry from the near-annual one it enjoyed across all of its lines during the 2000s.
And to put a stamp on just how rough things currently stand, Tsujimoto’s optimism towards the Mega Man IP marks one of just five times the series is mentioned in the Integrated Report, and the only one that does not come as part of a general ‘history recap’.
Ultimately, while its announcement is a welcome one to be sure, Capcom’s recent track record in handling the franchise suggests fans would do best to not get their hopes up that Dual Override will actually release until Capcom actually assigns it an exact 2027 debut date.
