Capcom is currently in its golden age and the Devil May Cry series is another franchise that benefited from a well-received title in this period with DMC5 in 2019, although the series has been dormant since then. Other franchises have had title after title in this time period, specifically Monster Hunter and Resident Evil, and although DMC5 was successful, nothing more has been done with the franchise outside the upcoming Netflix series. This is a shame too, since Capcom seems to be in an era in which it can’t do wrong, except for its PC ports.

Capcom is known for its long-running series, and Devil May Cry is one of them, beginning life as a Resident Evil project before becoming its own thing. The series has had its ups and downs, suffering from the poorly made Devil May Cry 2 and having a reboot title that is technically good but loses the series’ identity. Still, it felt like Devil May Cry returned to form with DMC5, and it provided the perfect platform for Nero to take the reins from Dante going forward, but DMC has been collecting dust ever since 2019.

The DMC Netflix Series Could Be Building Interest For Devil May Cry 6

More Eyes Will Be Back On The Devil May Cry Series

The Devil May Cry series is one of those franchises that has had a bigger cultural impact than player numbers. A large reason for this is the music, specifically the memes that came with “Devil Trigger” and “Bury the Light.” Vergil, specifically, was plastered almost everywhere when his DLC came out, and his theme has reached more people than the game it came from. While DMC5 was a brilliant game that did wonders for the series, the music ironically did more to get people looking at the series, even if these people didn’t play the games.

Each playable DMC5 character has their own theme that becomes more complete depending on their style rank.

This might be what endears people to the Netflix series, who know the names of the characters but don’t really know what they’re all about. Capcom is finally doing something with the franchise through the Netflix series, and these animated series have historically done many favors for games. Although Cyberpunk 2077 had already done a lot to rebuild its reputation before Edgerunners, when the series came out everyone started playing the game again, and that’s when word truly got around that Cyberpunk 2077 had become the game CD Projekt Red originally promised back in 2020.

The Netflix series could do the same, especially because Devil May Cry 5 is an amazing title and Capcom’s current reputation as a brilliant yet somewhat greedy game company. After Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition and making Vergil playable, players began to call for a “Lady’s Night Out” DLC in which Lady and Trish got their moment to shine after taking over the Devil May Cry business from Dante, so the interest was always there to continue the story. DMC5 may have offered a great conclusion to the series, but there are still unanswered questions.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Had A Series Beforehand

Capcom Has Been Repeating Winning Strategies

Capcom is a company that is known for evolving on patterns that have already worked. Monster Hunter and Resident Evil titles largely keep to the same formulas and these are the titles that do best for the company at the moment. With the Devil May Cry series, it could repeat a formula it used for the return of Dragon’s Dogma, an IP that had been dormant for even longer than DMC. Before the announcement of the long-awaited Dragon’s Dogma 2, there was a Netflix miniseries, a seemingly random project that helped gauge how popular the IP actually was.

The original Dragon’s Dogma wasn’t too successful at launch, but the game benefited from becoming a cult classic, with the sales improving over time, especially after the Dark Arisen version hit PC. Other than a limited-access MMO version of Dragon’s Dogma, the series remained quiet until the Netflix series, and while the series didn’t blow anyone’s minds, it reminded enough people of the game to get them asking for a sequel. The same could be happening with the DMC Netflix series. Capcom could be poking around to see how much interest there is for a Devil May Cry sequel.

Devil May Cry 5 has been a massive success for Capcom, selling 9.9 million units as of December 2024. This continues the trend of each new Capcom game breaking its respective series’ records, with DMC5 being the bestseller in the series, so it isn’t as if there wouldn’t be financial incentive. DMC‘s director is still at Capcom, having worked on Dragon’s Dogma 2, and while the company might have to take the series’ combat director back from Square Enix after his work on Final Fantasy 16, with the company’s current track record, DMC6 will probably be another hit.

Now Is The Perfect Time For Hack-And-Slash Games To Make A Comeback

Hack-And-Slashes Have Never Been More Popular

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

Hack-and-slash titles have made a tremendous comeback in recent years. Since the release of Devil May Cry 5, NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139, Stellar Blade, Black Myth: Wukong, and Bayonetta 3 have all come out, with Tales of Annihilation, Lost Soul Aside, and even Ninja Gaiden 4 all on the horizon. These are just the bigger names, yet whenever a new game show comes out, there seems to be at least one high-budget hack-and-slash title being shown off. For the first time in a long time, there is a market for hack-and-slash games.

In many ways, Devil May Cry is the godfather of hack-and-slash games, so while all these young upstarts are hogging the scene, it feels odd that the original isn’t making any waves. Perhaps the Netflix series is a sign that Devil May Cry is making a comeback with either DMC6 or a remake of older titles, like DMC3. Perhaps both are on the horizon like with what the Ninja Gaiden series is doing (I can only hope). Capcom does love to make remakes of Resident Evil while making new games, and it could do the same with DMC.

As long as the Netflix series is true to the games and not terrible, it should be a net positive for the Devil May Cry series and show Capcom that money can still be made from the series. This could be with DMC6, showing Dante, Vergil, and Nero acting as a family for once, or through a remake of DMC1 or 3. There are plenty of options with the DMC series, and with all the success other games in Capcom’s roster have enjoyed, it makes sense for Devil May Cry to enjoy some of that too.