What do you get when you mix a rogue AI, a mysterious child-cyborg, and a crumbling moon base? Capcom’s long-awaited sci-fi game Pragmata – and it’s finally back in orbit.
After years of silence, Capcom’s mysterious sci-fi title Pragmata has re-emerged during the recent PlayStation Showcase, sparking intrigue, excitement – and more than a few jokes – across the gaming community.
The ambitious new IP, first revealed in 2020, is now slated for a 2026 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. While no specific date has been confirmed, the showcase trailer offered a fresh look into the game’s world.
And it looks like the wait might have been worth it.
Moon Dreams and AI Nightmares
Set in a dystopian near-future on a lunar research station, Pragmata follows protagonists Hugh and his young android companion Diana – designation D-I-0336-7. (Yes, many in the community were quick to joke that her name was going to be “DIO.” JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fans, we see you.)
The narrative kicks off with a surreal in-universe commercial by the Delphi Corporation, advertising “Lunafilament” – a high-tech material – alongside advanced generative AI, both claiming to “reshape the lines between dream and reality.”
A perfect piece of sci-fi satire... Or maybe a little too close to current real life headlines for comfort? Hopefully the AI going rogue is one science-fiction trope that stays fiction for now...
The story centers on Hugh and Diana’s accidental meeting and their joint mission to overcome the station’s obstacles, rogue AI enemies and return to Earth.
To do so, players will need to control both characters simultaneously, each equipped with unique abilities that complement the other, which hints at some more strategic gameplay woven into the action-adventure framework.
From Silence to Spotlight
Capcom has kept Pragmata largely under wraps since its last significant update in June 2023. The long silence led to concern and humor among fans, with one commenter noting:
“That 2022 to 2026 is crazy! Talk about a miscalculation. Lol.”
Multiple delays have shifted expectations, but the new trailer appears to have rekindled hope and interest, especially with the reveal of actual gameplay footage.
Visually, the trailer has been compared by viewers to Detroit: Become Human, Death Stranding, and BioShock, balancing sleek futuristic tech with emotional undertones and dystopian decay.
Capcom’s Vision for a New Flagship
As a completely original IP, Capcom is positioning Pragmata as more than just an experimental side project. It wants it to become one of the company’s core franchises. So far, early reactions suggest that fans are open to the idea, praising the company for investing in new worlds rather than sticking solely to familiar names like Resident Evil or Monster Hunter.
Time will tell if Pragmata lives up to the hype – but we’ll be watching its development closely. With Diana joining the ranks of unsettlingly powerful child characters that have recently haunted games and movies, there’s a sense she’s hiding more than just advanced AI protocols. Whether she’s humanity’s last hope or something far more mysterious, one thing’s clear: the moon isn’t the only thing keeping secrets.