Nearly a decade on from the last mainline game, the 2.5D platformer Mega Man 11, CAPCOM has been working hard to reintegrate the legendary Blue Bomber as part of the company’s “core IPs”, which currently consist of juggernaut franchises Resident Evil, Monster Hunter and Street Fighter. Outside of bringing back legacy titles in the form of collections, such as the recently released Star Force one, the fruits of their labour have manifested in the form of the upcoming title Mega Man: Dual Override.
Revealed last December at The Game Awards 2025, Mega Man: Dual Override attempts to both respect the games that came prior and carve its own path at the same time. Dual Override was playable for the first time at gamescom 2026, and my impressions after getting hands-on with it are largely positive. This is because I was never the biggest fan of the mainline series itself, with which Mega Man: Dual Override certainly identifies most with, preferring, instead, either the X or the Battle Network lines of games.
Nevertheless, Dual Override boasts a fantastic soundtrack, an art style that grows on me the more I see it in action, and a new “chip” system meant to accommodate a whole range of playstyles. My hope, not necessarily my expectation, is that Mega Man: Dual Override will appeal to fans of the mainline and spin-off series alike, but the 20-minute demo I played did not quite make me sure of that.
Alongside the demo of Mega Man: Dual Override I played at gamescom, I had the privilege of interviewing Dual Override director Shinya Ikuta, Mega Man series producer Shingo Izumi, and Dual Override producer Hiroyuki Minamitani. With the help of an interpreter, I asked them about why now was the right time to bring Mega Man back, the meaning of the subtitle, the new “chip” system and more:
Hello and thank you so much for having me! I’m so excited to be talking about Mega Man: Dual Override with you today! It’s been almost a decade since the last mainline Mega Man game, Mega Man 11, came out. Why is now the time to bring the Blue Bomber back?
Shinya Ikuta: As you mentioned, Mega Man 11, the last title in the main-line series was released in 2018 and, since then, while there hasn’t been a new main-line game, we’ve been working and releasing new titles from different spin-off series and collections like the Battle Network collection, the Star Force collection and we’ve been experimenting and researching on our end to see what we can do on the developer side.
Since we’re approaching the 40th anniversary of Mega Man, which we will be celebrating next year, we felt that this is the perfect time to release a brand new main-line game within the series, which led us to making our announcement last December at The Game Awards. Now, we’re here at gamescom to show you a first look at the game.
Izumi-san, as you’ve just mentioned, you’ve most recently produced the Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection, so I must ask, what, if anything, are you taking from that series of games into the making of Mega Man: Dual Override?
Shingo Izumi: In terms of the timing, because the Star Force Collection was recently released, it’s hard to apply some of the learnings from that into Dual Override, but I’m definitely paying attention to the comments and user feedback we’ve been receiving, and hopefully we can leverage that for future projects.
Speaking of The Game Awards, the announcement trailer presented there ends with a familiar voice…or should I say whistle? What, if anything, can you tell us about Proto Man’s role in Dual Override?
Shinya Ikuta: There is not much we can delve into right now, but what we can definitely say is that Proto Man will provide a different gameplay experience from Mega Man, so we hope that gives a reason to try out both characters.
With the exception of Mega Man & Bass, which is considered to be a spin-off in the main-line Mega Man series, all of the titles have been numbered. Should fans expect Mega Man: Dual Override to serve, for all intents and purposes, as Mega Man 12?
Shingo Izumi: We decided to go with Mega Man: Dual Override instead of Mega Man 12 because this is definitely a game catered towards longtime Mega Man fans, but we also wanted this game to be appreciated by people who may have never played a Mega Man game. There may also be some people out there who have never played Mega Man 11, but we don’t want that to be a deterrent in giving Mega Man: Dual Override a try.
Gameplay-wise, the “Double Gear System” was of great importance to Mega Man 11: are you doubling down on that system with Dual Override, hence the name? If not, what would you say is the main “gimmick” behind this new Mega Man game? Is it the “Custom Chip System”?
Shinya Ikuta: The “Double Gear System” will be replaced by the “Custom Chip System” in Dual Override, which allows players to mix and match multiple “chips” in order to achieve the playstyle that they’re aiming for. So, that means that even if you play the same stage multiple times, depending on the chips that you apply to your playable character, that will drastically change your game experience.
Would you say that the “Custom Chip System” also serves as a sort of difficulty mode? I played the demo of Mega Man: Dual Override without a “chip” equipped and found it quite difficult!
Shinya Ikuta: If you look at the overall result, it is safe to say that, depending on the chips equipped, the difficulty would be impacted, but I would prefer for players to look at it as certain chips being more effective and more appropriate for certain stages. I hope that players will experiment with different chips to cater this system to their liking.
Since we’re on the topic, Dual Override is difficult in the same way the older games are: to what extent is difficulty part of the identity of not just Dual Override, but any other mainline Mega Man game?
Shinya Ikuta: As you’ve mentioned, the challenge aspect is something that’s very important to the legacy of the series. So this is something we carefully thought of and were cognizant about when balancing the game.
The Mega Man: Dual Override demo I tried on the show floor featured one level ready to play, but it was split into three areas. Will every level in the game be divided into three sections or will other levels be treated differently?
Shinya Ikuta: That is correct! Every “Robot Master” will have three playable areas.
During the demo, I was also collecting bolts — I think I collected…maybe 3? What purpose do these bolts serve?
Hiroyuki Minamitani: The purpose of the bolts is to trade them in for custom chips for your character.
Shinya Ikuta: The goal is to make it so that the player can collect multiple bolts, especially in a stage like Twinkle Girl’s. Hopefully, by collecting those bolts, the player can trade those in for chips and enhance the abilities of their character so that they can take down more challenging stages down the line and be able to get that sense of accomplishment.
How many of these chips are there in total? And to what extent are they going to transform a player’s experience?
Shinya Ikuta: So, the set of three chips you got to experience was made specifically for the demo. In the actual product, there will be lots of chips that you can select. Basically, you can enter a “chip” customization menu where you can pick and choose different chips you want to apply to your playable character.
Moving on, what can you say about Dual Override’s first revealed “Robot Master”, Twinkle Girl?
Shinya Ikuta: Firstly, the Twinkle Girl stage is based on the robot exhibit from the story. She was created to be kind of like an entertainer character or like a celebratory robot for this exhibit. You may have noticed things in the stage that are themed around her, such as the fireworks and the electronic signage. The idea was to show that she is a popular robot within the world of the game.
To what extent will Dual Override include more legacy “Robot Masters” besides Astro Man, who is originally from Mega Man 8?
Shinya Ikuta: Besides Astro Man, there will be others, too, so we hope you look forward to seeing them.
It is Mega Man tradition to have a boss character design contest, and Dual Override is no different: do you have any news to share on this front? Are there any designs that caught your eye already?
Hiroyuki Minamitani: We looked at all the submissions, and we were especially excited to see so many of them come from children. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific illustration to highlight here; all of them are great, and we’re very excited to announce the winning design sometime down the line.
To end on a funnier note, there’s been speculation on the internet for a long time that Pragmata is secretly a Mega Man game. Since a Mega Man costume set has just been announced for Pragmata, would you finally call Pragmata a Mega Man game?
Shinya Ikuta: All I can say is that we hope that the content is loved and appreciated by fans of both Mega Man and Pragmata! [laughs]
Anything else you’d like to add?
Shinya Ikuta: We’re very excited to be delivering Mega Man: Dual Override to everyone. It’s been a long time since the last game, and we, as creators, are very excited to show you what we’ve been working on.
