Image: Capcom
Resident Evil 9 is real, and the creative team behind Resident Evil 7 is back to make it.
Capcom’s summer game showcase confirmed that a sequel to Resident Evil Village is already in development. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard director Koshi Nakanishi is returning to make the sequel, saying that, “It was really difficult to figure out what to do after 7. But I found it, and to be honest it feels substantial. I can't share any details just yet, but I hope you're excited for the day I can."
Resident Evil 9 is officially in development
After years of rumours centered around Resident Evil 9, Capcom has officially confirmed the sequel is now in development. The director of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Koshi Nakanishi, is returning to helm the sequel, after having figured out a, “substantial,” idea for the game. The survival horror franchise has reinvented itself with every mainline entry since Resident Evil 6, so it’s likely that the next game is headed in a drastically different direction than its predecessor.
Nakanishi took a moment to speak about his work on Resident Evil 7 while discussing the game’s arrival on iOS platforms. He said that when work began on the game, the franchise brand was, “off track,” due to an increased focus on action-packed gameplay. After parsing through fan feedback from Resident Evil 6, the creative team found that fans would rather have a Resident Evil game that would, “scare the hell out of you.”
Hence, the team pivoted to a first-person perspective after, “reevaluating many parts of the game from scratch,” and realising that, “anything that didn’t induce fear had to change.” Keeping those lessons in mind, it’s unlikely that Nakanishi now plans to make Resident Evil 9 any less scary than Resident Evil 7. That should both excite and scare fans, even if the sequel is still a ways off.
Resident Evil Village launched in 2021 and seemingly brought an end to the Winters family saga that began in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, leaving little room for a narrative continuation of both games. A sequel would either have to follow Rose, Ethan and Mia’s daughter from the Shadows of Rose expansion, or begin a fresh story with different characters. Personally, I would love to see what Jill Valentine has been up to at this point in the series timeline, but the possibilities are endless.