Devil May Cry 5 puts three demon hunters on one city, and the best thing about it is that none of them fight the same way. Capcom released the game on March 8, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One. It is the sixth entry in the series and the fifth mainline one. You play Nero, Dante and V, each locked to his own missions, each built around a different idea of what stylish combat means.
Trailer, via XBOX.
Nero’s Devil Breakers
Nero came back from Devil May Cry 4 without his Devil Bringer. In its place he carries the Devil Breakers, robotic arms built by the gunsmith Nico Goldstein. They grab enemies from a distance. They stop time and freeze a demon in place. Nero can find more of them during stages.
That is the trade the game makes. The Breakers hit hard and they break. Misuse one and it is gone. Nero keeps his Red Queen sword for melee and the Blue Rose double-barreled revolver, so the basics are familiar, but the arms are the new argument. They are fragile on purpose, and that fragility is the point.
Dante’s Four Styles
Dante plays close to his Devil May Cry 4 self. He switches between four styles mid-fight to create new techniques or parry incoming attacks. He carries the blade Rebellion and the Devil Sword Sparda.
The game never lets you pick a favorite and stay there. Each mission forces one character. You do not choose. Capcom chooses for you, and the result is that you learn all three whether you meant to or not.
V and His Summons
V is the new playable character, and he is the strangest of the three. He is a mysterious stranger who hires Dante and his crew to take down the Demon King Urizen. The plot sends the returning pair after Urizen at V’s request.
Late in the story Nero regains his Devil Bringer and unlocks the Devil Trigger, a super-powered state that turns him demonic and expands what he can do in a fight. It is a strong finish, though the source does not say where it lands in the story.
Red Grave City and the Qliphoth
The setting is Red Grave City, and the city is overrun. A demonic tree called the Qliphoth is planted in it, killing people for their blood. The fruit it grows is born of condensed human blood, and whoever eats it becomes king of the Underworld. That is the clock the story runs on.
The game takes place five years after Devil May Cry 4. The story was written by Bingo Morihashi, and the setting draws on locations in London. Director Hideaki Itsuno said he wanted this installment to be his best work, and he aimed to balance it for newcomers and returning players through varied difficulties and challenges.
The RE Engine Look
Capcom built Devil May Cry 5 in its in-house RE Engine, the same technology behind Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The studio wanted a more realistic design this time, so real people were used to make the characters’ faces. The result is photorealistic character work with lighting and environmental effects that hold up.
Multiple composers worked on the audio, producing three main themes, one built around each playable character. The music shifts with your performance in combat. Play well and the track answers you. Play badly and it lets you know.
Style Ratings and Bloody Palace
Combat runs on a style rating. The game scores you on move variety, the length of a combo and how you dodge. It is a system that punishes repetition, which is the correct instinct for a game about showing off.
The Bloody Palace mode returns. Players face multiple types of demons in a single area, one after another. It is the purest version of the game: no story, no walking, just the fight and the rating.
Every time you meet Nico or find a statue, you can buy new abilities for each character. That is the upgrade loop, and it keeps the three playstyles from calcifying.
What the Numbers Say
Devil May Cry 5 sold over two million units in less than two weeks after release. That figure rose to 14.24 million units as of June 2026. The source says the game won several awards but does not name them.
Key facts
- Release date: March 8, 2019
- Launch platforms: PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
- Also listed: Nintendo Switch 2
- Developer and publisher: Capcom
- Director: Hideaki Itsuno
- Writer: Bingo Morihashi
- Engine: RE Engine
- Sales: over 2 million units in under two weeks; 14.24 million as of June 2026
Release schedule
| Date | Platform | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2019 | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | Launch |
| Under two weeks after launch | All | Over 2 million units sold |
| June 2026 | All | 14.24 million units sold |
The Verdict on Three Heroes
The three-character structure is the whole review. Capcom could have shipped one hunter and padded the runtime. Instead it built three separate combat languages and refused to let you settle into any of them. Nero’s breakable arms, Dante’s style switching and V’s separate playstyle all pull against each other, and the mission lock is what makes that tension productive rather than annoying.
The weak spot is that the game asks a lot before it gives. The Breakers shatter, the rating punishes repetition, and the forced character swaps will frustrate anyone who found a favorite in the first hour. That is a real cost, and it is not a small one.
Fourteen million units is not a niche cult number. This paper’s read is that the scale came from the game’s reach, not from any one feature, and the source does not tie the sales to the complexity. What is clear is that Devil May Cry 5 treats its own three-way structure as the selling point, and that is the part worth watching for whatever comes next.
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