Capcom's Pragmata: director reveals why the game was 'indefinitely delayed' two years ago

In a recent interview with Pragmata’s director at Tokyo Game Show 2025, where the game’s new Shelter trailer dropped, game director Cho Yonghee opened up about the challenges and hurdles that caused the game’s indefinite delay back in 2023.

Yonghee shed light on Pragmata’s development hurdles in an interview with TheGamer. Yonghee noted that the main reason behind the game’s delay was Pragmata’s signature hacking mechanics, which took a chunk of the development team’s time over at Capcom to nail them. Yonghee stated:

“It’s a big reason for the delay. There was so much trial and error and back and forth just to see what could land and what works best.” Producer Naoto Oyama further explained this and mentioned the dual mechanics at play in the game’s combat and puzzle-solving:

“Having the two mechanics, Diana’s hacking and Hugh's shooting, has been one of the causes for us to put more time into that game. We took our time to balance it all out.”

Beyond the game’s mechanics, the team took its time to find the right design choices, specifically, how the developers would allocate the screen real estate for hacking abilities during intense firefights and combat against Pragmata’s humanoid robots and drones.

Pragmata was originally unveiled back in 2020 during Sony’s PS5 Future of Gaming showcase, where the project generated tons of buzz with its mysterious trailer featuring Diano and Hugh in outer space. 

The game was slated for an initial 2022 release on the PlayStation 5, but was later postponed to 2023. Afterward, Pragmata was postponed indefinitely during a Capcom digital event, where the company simply stated it “must further postpone the release of Pragmata” because “it needs more time.”

Fortunately for those looking forward to playing it, the game has been confirmed for a 2026 launch across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S|X. Despite the six-year gap and numerous delays, Yonghee doesn’t regret revealing details about Pragmata so early, viewing it as a means to push forward the game’s development.

He stated: "Putting the game out there so early served as motivation for us. If we didn’t put that trailer out back then, Pragmata might not be the same game it is today.”

Oyama also chimed in and pointed at the organic hype the game’s reveal generated since, stating, “Whenever there was a digital showcase, people were always expecting Pragmata."