A lot of Capcom's biggest IPs are doing really well for themselves right now. Resident Evil: Village delighted horror fans across the video game industry earlier this year, the Monster Hunter franchise is happily experimenting with new genres and stories, and Ace Attorney is back in action with The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Capcom has made a name for itself by introducing new ideas to its most beloved IPs that make each franchise's traditions feel fresh. Even so, Capcom isn't afraid to make unique stories, like the mysterious Pragmata. There's a lot about Pragmata that fans don't know, but if Capcom delivers on the dystopian sci-fi title, Pragmata could be Capcom's next big property.
Unfortunately, Pragmata seems to have disappeared. After it was revealed in mid-2020, Pragmata fans reasonably presumed that they'd hear something about the game during at least one of 2021's mid-summer game conferences, like E3 or Gamescom. Pragmata was nowhere to be found, which makes some fans anxious about its state of development, especially after its initial announcement at a high-profile Sony event. The unexpected silence makes one worry that Pragmata will suffer the same fate as Capcom's Deep Down, which has completely fallen off the radar. Pragmata hasn't been silent for as long as Deep Down, but it's certainly on the same trajectory as its silent predecessor.
The Disappearance of Deep Down
For those who aren't familiar with Deep Down, it's a multiplayer action RPG dungeon crawler that Capcom announced in 2013. Deep Down is founded on a curious time-bending premise: players live in 2094, but when they interact with ancient artifacts, they're sent back in time to battle dragons, trolls, and other classic fantasy monsters. In fact, Deep Down's aesthetic is largely that of a gritty classic fantasy game, looking reminiscent of Capcom's own Dragon's Dogma. Deep Down's free-to-play model and procedurally generated dungeons sounded like a solid gateway into a lasting Capcom title.
At first, Deep Down's development looked like it was going fine, getting new announcements through 2013 and into 2014. However, an anticipated beta for the game never came, nor did Capcom release the game in 2014 as fans expected. On the contrary, Deep Down's public presence shortly disappeared, and Capcom didn't comment on where the game has gone. Interestingly, Capcom renewed the Deep Down trademark in 2016, then kept renewing it for years afterward, but fans never learned anything more concrete than that. Capcom clearly seemed intent on keeping Deep Down alive, but telegraphed no further plans.
Some Deep Down news broke recently, but it's not good news. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier recently spoke with the retired PlayStation head Shawn Layden and asked Layden what's become of Deep Down. Unfortunately, Layden indicated that he didn't know anything about Deep Down's ultimate fate, which strongly suggests that the game really is gone for good. It's not every day that a game fades away without getting a concrete cancellation, but Deep Down's fading into obscurity is an excellent example of the phenomenon. Since Capcom fans have seen this happen before, they certainly have some reason to worry that Pragmata could be next.
Pragmata Lingers in Silence
Pragmata's life as a Capcom IP started off in a pretty high-profile way. It was announced at Sony's PS5 reveal conference alongside Resident Evil: Village. Even in the context of the PS5, Pragmata turned heads with its cryptic trailer, which revealed extremely few details about Pragmata's plot or gameplay. All that fans truly know is that it involves a near-future dystopia and the Moon. Pragmata may not have been the core of Sony's conference, but its aesthetic and premise looked compelling enough that it became a talking point after the show.
Pragmata news didn't come out swiftly after its announcement, but Capcom fans at least expected that the studio would say something about the game at a 2021 game conference. Capcom had its own conference at E3 2021, but it surprisingly skipped a ton of its biggest properties, including the anticipated Pragmata. Similarly, there was no word of Pragmata at Gamescom. One wonders, then, just how long Capcom will take to say something new about Pragmata. Missing such perfect opportunities to discuss the game might make some fans believe that the game isn't nearly as far along in development as fans hoped.
The unexpected disappearance of Pragmata is awfully similar to Deep Down. It's never a good sign when anticipated news about a game just doesn't come out. For now, the biggest thing that sets Pragmata apart from Deep Down is that there's still a glimmer of hope for Pragmata news this year. The game's Twitter account still claims that there'll be Pragmata news in 2021. Capcom is confirmed to be attending the crucial Tokyo Game Show, which would be a great place to address Pragmata; barring that, Capcom could release a buzzer-beater Pragmata trailer at The Game Awards 2021. The important thing is that Capcom follows through and says something about Pragmata.
Pragmata Can't Lose Momentum Now
Capcom has the resources to expand and a fanbase happy to try Capcom's new projects. It's a good thing that Capcom seems interested in starting new IPs even though it already has so many excellent franchises in diverse genres to work on, from Street Fighter to Monster Hunter to Resident Evil. Pragmata is more than just a new IP from Capcom—it's a sign of Capcom's willingness to push its own boundaries and grow, experimenting with new storylines and gameplay. In a time when Capcom could rest on its laurels, it's willing to take a gamble on Pragmata and make something new.
Deep Down meant the same thing for Capcom once. A free-to-play multiplayer dungeon crawler definitely would've stood out among Capcom's other IPs, but it disappeared, giving way to Capcom's many other projects. Deep Down's disappearance is a sad loss of a solid idea. It'd be a similarly huge loss if Pragmata fizzled out. Hopefully, Capcom proves soon that Pragmata isn't going to suffer the same fate as Pragmata. The game's concept looks solid, and it serves as an important reminder that even the biggest game developers can gain something from making something new. Maybe the last few months of 2021 have some major Pragmata announcements after all.
Pragmata is scheduled to release in 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.