"Balancing hacking and shooting" in Pragmata has been vital for "players to feel the tension", the director tells me: "The key was making sure these two systems complement each other"

First announced back in 2020, Pragmata has been in development for quite a while. As a result, the idea of a corporation promising that generative AI would benefit humanity, and the reality turning out to be quite different, takes on a somewhat spicier flavor in 2026. Exactly what the AI is actually generating in Pragmata, however, extends far beyond sloppy art and inaccurate statements.

The discovery of lunum ore has resulted in the development of Lunafilament, a material that can be used to physically generate absolutely anything so long as the required data is on hand. When communication with the Lunafilament research station on the moon is lost, Hugh Williams and his team are sent to investigate, but are separated following a lunar quake. Hugh awakes to find that he has been saved by an android – an eponymous Pragmata – created in the form of a young girl via Lunafilament. Her name is D-I-0366-7, but Hugh soon renames her Diana, a name that she embraces.

"We could have gone with a more robotic look," game director Cho Yonghee tells me, "but we chose a human-like design to make her warm and relatable. That contrast between her humanity and the stark, cold sci-fi backdrop reinforces the emotional core of the story and gameplay." Also, we're sorry to break it to you if you're one of the people who suspected (for some reason) that this will be revealed to be a new Mega Man game. "We've definitely seen some of those theories, and they're always fun to read! But I can assure you, Pragmata is a completely new IP for Capcom. It's not Mega Man in disguise."

Live and let Diana

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This new IP brings with it an interesting new take on combat. Hugh and Diana need to fight their way through legions of AI-controlled robots in their attempt to escape the lunar station, and Hugh's weapons are all but useless against their reinforced armor (and more powerful ones break once their ammo runs out). Diana can hack the robots in order to make them vulnerable, but this hacking takes the form of a minigame that takes place in real time, in the middle of combat.

Hacking is a relatively simple process of reaching the goal within a small grid. There are optional squares along the path that offer bonuses such as extra damage and extended hack time, but of course, you'll have enemies attacking and advancing on you all the while. You need to decide how much time you're comfortable spending on building up an advantage before you start to fight back again. Some benefits – such as hacking multiple enemies at once or generating a decoy – are worth the risk.

The idea is for Diana and Hugh to offer equally important, but very different, parts in combat. "Balancing hacking and shooting was one of the core challenges for us," explains Yonghee. "We wanted players to feel the tension of managing Hugh's combat abilities alongside Diana's hacking without any of their abilities overwhelming the other. The key was making sure these two systems complement each other, so players experience them as part of a unified gameplay loop rather than separate tasks."

Hugh and me

Teamwork between the two will also be important in navigating the lunar base itself. Hugh's suit is fitted with thrusters, which allows him to dash and hover; although they can only be used in bursts, so you'll need to keep an eye on the gauge. It's Diana's abilities that will allow them to bypass the station's security systems however, hacking doors and opening up new paths (including Escape Hatches, which allow you to travel to and from the Shelter, a safe space that acts as your base for upgrades and catching your breath).

Yonghee tells us that the distinctive look of the base and its unfriendly robotic inhabitants are, in part, due to the involvement of an anime legend. "From the start, we wanted a sci-fi world that feels grounded yet visually distinctive. Anchoring the setting in a near-future lunar base gave us realism, while leaving room for creative expression. We were fortunate to have the involvement of renowned mecha designer and anime director Shoji Kawamori, known for his work on Ghost in the Shell and Macross, involved in the project, which brought an extra layer of creativity to the world-creation direction."

Pragmata is a rare attempt from Capcom at launching a new IP – does that bring an amount of pressure with it? "Every time we put out a new video," says Yonghee, "it has been very motivating seeing that people were still excited for the game. However, I wouldn't say that we feel any more pressure because it is a new franchise. All games carry the same amount of pressure to meet the expectations that our fans have for our games. And I believe that Pragmata is able to meet these expectations."