Exoprimal director talks transporting a classic Mega Man boss into the dino-blasting PvE game

It’s been roughly nine months since Capcom’s dino-eradicating PvE shooter Exoprimal hit the scene. It’s been an interesting game to follow, as it’s continued to find new and surprising ways to twist the “shoot a ton of dinosaurs with guns” formula.

Title Update 4, out today, feels like the latest evolution of that. On one end, you have activities like the Neo Triceratops Savage Gauntlet and Time Loop Rebellion, both adding some high-difficulty options for kitted-out players. Custom matches also add a nice feature, for those looking to gather a dedicated party to tackle the hardest challenges in Exoprimal.

And then you also have the Mega Man Collaboration, bringing special cosmetics and suit skins into the world of Exoprimal, as well as a boss battle against the legendary Yellow Devil, a classic foe of the Blue Bomber. Plus, new suit variants, and plenty of other reasons to return.

So, we took the opportunity to catch up with director Takuro Hiraoka to see just how things are going for Exoprimal. We talk player response, how the Mega Man collab came to be, and even what the future may hold for this dino-fighting PvE experience. Read on to learn more.

How has player response to Exoprimal shaped your post-launch support plans? For example, the Time Loop Rebellion challenge adds a more-powerful Behemoth fight – is this because players seem to want further endgame-level challenge?

Takuro Hiraoka: Following Exoprimal’s launch and the release of new content with each Title Update, we’ve examined how players respond and utilized their feedback for reference. That said, we don’t develop new content or make changes entirely based on these requests. Instead, the development team analyzes the root causes and true meaning behind these views and consciously combine players’ wishes with our own aims.

In terms of Time Loop Rebellion’s addition, we understood the story’s final battle was well received by players. We were also keenly aware the community found the 10-player co-op missions and event battles enjoyable, including the initial Neo Tyrannosaurus encounter. Based on this, the development team had the desire to add content that differed from the competitive PvE components of Dino Survival and the five-player co-op content of Savage Gauntlet. After careful consideration, we decided upon the addition of Time Loop Rebellion.

Another Capcom collaboration is on the way, this time with Mega Man. What was the reason the team decided on Mega Man, over other possible Capcom franchise collaborations?

Hiraoka: We considered collaborations with various Capcom titles, but the following items were
deciding factors for why we opted to move forward with a Mega Man collaboration:

• Personally, I am a fan of the Mega Man series.
• Masakazu Eguchi, who has worked on the Mega Man Battle Network series, was part of the Exoprimal development team and understands the game well. After consulting with him, we thought we’d be able to create an interesting and enjoyable collaboration.
• The development team wanted to see what sorts of fun elements we could bring to gameplay by recreating Mega Man’s 2D action in a 3D action format.

I’ll share more information later on, but the Yellow Devil boss battle is a genuinely interesting fight. I hope that both Exofighters and Mega Man fans enjoy it!

How did you decide which cosmetics you wanted to create for the Mega Man collab? Were there any parts of Mega Man history the team wanted to highlight, in particular?

Hiraoka: When thinking about cosmetic items for Capcom collaborations, we make sure to prioritize the following things:

• The game(s) featured in the collaboration are clear and easy to understand.
• The cosmetic items are impactful and leave an impression on players.

For the Mega Man collaboration, a variety of suggestions arose during internal discussions. After careful consideration, we decided on the contents that are included in Title Update 4. Personally, I wanted to create a Dr. Wily Exosuit skin, but the team wasn’t able to bring that vision to fruition on an actual Exosuit, so we scrapped the idea. That said, Dr. Wily’s presence can be found in the collaboration’s charm and stamp cosmetics. Haha!

The Rajang skin from the Monster Hunter collaboration seemed to resonate well with players and became a hot topic of conversation. We wanted to create an equally impactful cosmetic item for the Mega Man collaboration and decided on a Yellow Devil Exosuit skin.

The special fight features the infamous Yellow Devil boss. Why did you opt for this fight, in particular? Was it difficult to incorporate a giant robot fight into a game where you normally fight a different kind of enemy (dinosaurs)?

Hiraoka: Based on Exoprimal’s gameplay, we thought it would be difficult to feature one of the Robot Masters that Mega Man fights (e.g., Cut Man, Fire Man, etc.) as a boss for the collaboration mission. These battles consist of ten Exofighters working together to defeat a formidable foe, so the boss would need to be large and powerful enough to compete with a ten-player squad.

We selected Yellow Devil as a boss-type entity that would be able to meet these challenging conditions. Yellow Devil’s size aligned perfectly with our needs, and we felt its well-known “block movement” attack – where it dematerializes and shoots its body parts at you block by block – would give it a fighting chance against teams of ten Exofighters. Another factor that influenced our decision was the excitement the development team felt when imagining the possibilities for Yellow Devil’s “block movement” attack in a 3D action format.

It’s been about nine months since Exoprimal first launched. How has the team felt about its reception since then? What has been the biggest surprise for you?

Hiraoka: The development team is incredibly happy and grateful that so many people have played Exoprimal despite it being a brand-new IP. As a new IP with an unconventional “competitive PvE” mode as its main feature, I feel there have been some challenges, but I also feel that Exoprimal has gained a solid fan base and is well received among players. Thank you for your continued support.

We are also appreciative of the game’s supportive and active community, including veteran Exofighters who are stepping up to support newer, less experienced players. I am amazed by how much players’ skills have improved and matured since launch. The development team is also extremely impressed by how quickly teams are able to complete Savage Gauntlet trials each week. Well done!

What does the road ahead for Exoprimal look like? Are further Title Updates to be expected, or has the team considered any larger content drops like expansions?

Please stay tuned for announcements at a later date.

Are there any remaining Capcom franchises that you’d still really like to work with inside of Exoprimal?

Hiraoka: Since Leviathan utilizes a variety of tactics to generate robust combat data, I think collaborations with other Capcom titles would be near-perfect combat tests for aspiring Exofighters. Haha!

Putting aside the possibility of execution, I think it would be a lot of fun to fight one of the fantasy monsters that appear in Dragon’s Dogma. It could also be exciting to go head-to-head with a massive horde of zombies from the Dead Rising universe.

Exoprimal Title Update 4 is now live on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.