Capcom might already be hard at work on its next Resident Evil remake with next year’s Resident Evil Veronica, but it seems the studio isn’t done remaking the older games from the franchise, with plans for the remakes to eventually catch up with recent numbered releases.
This comes from franchise executive producer Jun Takeuchi’s comments in the recently released Biohazard 30th anniversary special magazine book, where he explained that the franchise is currently being developed along two tracks – new releases like this year’s Resident Evil Requiem, and remakes of past games.
“Someday, the remake series will catch up with the era of the numbered titles, and we are already thinking about what we will do when that happens,” he explained (via RENews). “In fact, we have been gradually preparing for that since around Village. The appearance of names such as Umbrella and Spencer, as well as the return of Raccoon City in Requiem, are also in preparation for a ‘crossover’.” In addition, he also described 2017’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard as the “turning point” for the series, which saw the team start to work on remaking earlier entries.
While it’s too early to tell what this “crossover” actually means, Takeuchi specifically mentioned that the remake series will “catch up” with newer titles, which gives an indication that the team is building up towards the remakes of the remaining two numbered titles in the franchise’s past before the described “turning point” – 2009’s Resident Evil 5 and 2012’s Resident Evil 6.
Among all the games released before RE 7, the franchise’s fifth and sixth numbered games are the ones that are in perhaps the most dire need of a modern revival. RE 5 was largely considered a decent entry, but was bogged down by the poor implementation of its AI companion, Sheva, while RE 6 was notorious for transforming the survival horror franchise into a more action-focused one, a decision that didn’t sit well with most fans. By remaking these two titles, Capcom can potentially fix past mistakes with an improved modern version.
Still, Capcom is placing its priorities elsewhere for now, as it was previously reported that the next entry in the remake series would be 2002’s Resident Evil Zero, which will follow in 2028 after Veronica, with a remake of the first game also being considered. One thing’s for sure, though – fans will have no shortage of Resident Evil experiences, both new and renewed, for years to come.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
