Bandai Namco Powers Up: Custom Game Engine Development Enters Full Swing

A big change is being made by Bandai Namco that could affect its development process for years to come. The company's long-awaited proprietary game engine is now apparently in full-scale development, with teams working hard to get used to the new technology. The engine, which was first revealed in 2019, is Bandai Namco's attempt to stop using Unreal Engine and other third-party tools. They want to save money, give developers more freedom, and make the game last for a long time.

It makes sense from a business point of view: Bandai Namco could save millions or even billions of dollars over many years by not paying Unreal Engine payments and licensing fees. This method has been shown to work before in this field. Before the RE Engine, there was the MT Framework, which helped Capcom make a wide range of technically impressive games while keeping costs low. By making and improving tech in-house, companies keep full control of their tools, make development more efficient, and avoid having to pay outside gatekeepers for every copy that ships.

Bandai Namco counts on Unreal Engine 4 a lot right now. This platform is praised for having a powerful set of tools, supporting multiple platforms, and being easy for developers to use. Unreal is great for making games quickly, but when dozens of companies use the same engine, the games can start to sound the same. This is called "technical flavor". If Bandai Namco had their own engine, they could make games that looked and played more like their own.

The change isn't just about how things look. A custom engine can be tuned for specific hardware, like making the newest consoles work better or getting the most out of systems like the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo has traditionally made its major games with its technology. It has used Unreal Engine a few times, like in Pikmin 4 and Yoshi's Crafted World, but mostly has kept development tightly under their own control. Sony does the same thing with its Decima engine, which powers both Horizon and Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2.

There could be a lot of benefits, such as faster development, better optimization, and technical features made just for Bandai Namco's needs, without having to follow someone else's update schedule. This freedom can also allow creators to try new things more easily, making games that stand out in a crowded market. 

Of course, it's not easy or quick to get an engine that's ready for production. It will take a lot of planning to get development teams to switch from a tool like Unreal to a brand-new system after years of research and development and ongoing improvements. However, if Bandai Namco follows the same steps that helped Capcom or Sony be successful, the investment could pay off big time, both in terms of money and creativity.

If done right, the new engine could be the basis for a wide range of games, from cinematic RPGs to stylized fighters, all of which would run perfectly on a number of systems, even Nintendo's next-generation hardware. And for the rest of the industry, this could be another clear sign: the days of only using third-party game systems are beginning to end, and a new wave of creativity is being built from scratch.