Capcom has confirmed that Resident Evil 9 is in development and it will be helmed by Resident Evil 7 director Koshi Nakanishi. This follows years of rumours and speculation after 2021’s Resident Evil Village, which was the eighth mainline title in the franchise. It looks like the next game is already underway but we have no other details to share.
Capcom confirmed the news in its Next Summer 2024 livestream where Koshi Nakanishi revealed, “We’re making a new Resident Evil. 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.”
In the same video, Nakanishi also talked about how the fifth and sixth games deviated a bit too far into action territory so when it came to the development of Resident Evil 7, the goal was ultimately to “scare the hell out of you.” It certainly succeeded as the seventh game is considered by fans to be one of the scariest, if not the scariest, entries in the franchise. By the sound of things, Nakanishi might be attempting to shift the focus back to the same intense horror of 7 for the next game.
While Resident Evil Village wasn’t without big scares (House Beneviento is absolute nightmare fuel), it left fans divided over the action-heavy second half of the game. Hopefully with Resident Evil 9, Capcom can deliver more survival horror over action since the remakes seem to be doing pretty well in the action department already.
There are a ton of rumours online about Resident Evil 9 but we can’t verify anything as Capcom remains pretty tight-lipped about the next installment. One report from March from known leaker Dusk Golem claimed that Capcom was attempting to make the ninth game open world after experimenting with the limitations of the RE Engine in Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s open world. We’ll just have to wait and see if this pans out.
Source: Capcom