The producer of Resident Evil Requiem says the development team has given thought to setting a future entry in the series in Japan.
In an interview with Japanese publication Futaman, producer Masato Kumazawa was asked about the future of the series, specifically the matter of where and when upcoming Resident Evil games could potentially be set.
Kumazawa answered that while the series has started showing characters like Leon Kennedy growing older, Capcom doesn’t have firm rules on the Resident Evil timeline, allowing for some flexibility on when each game is set.
“We only started portraying characters aging with Resident Evil 4,” he said (as translated by Automaton). “In fact, we’ve even done things like moving the timeline backward between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, so we don’t follow any set rules.
“That said, we do adjust the timeline based on the assessment that present-day stories help players feel more immersed. The timeline also changes depending on the characters and story we want to portray in each title. Even in Requiem, we have scenes set eight years prior, as well as even earlier periods. So, where the timeline goes from here will depend on the specific title.”
As for the location of future games, Kumazawa revealed he has given some consideration to setting a future Resident Evil title in Japan, and suggested that the rest of the Resident Evil development team have had similar thoughts.
“I think a Japanese setting is something every Japanese Resident Evil fan has thought about, and I’ve also considered it myself,” he said. “Since the development team is primarily based in Japan, I think every member has given it some thought. While Japan hasn’t appeared as a game setting so far, it might make an appearance at some point in the future.”
While he didn’t fully confirm that a future Resident Evil will be set in Japan, Kumazawa did at least note that Capcom’s intention is to keep innovating with each new entry to ensure the series doesn’t become stale.
“We won’t compromise the core elements of the series, such as the characters and the events that unfold, and we’ll continue to preserve what the series holds dear,” he said. “However, if we keep releasing the same kind of game over and over, players will eventually get bored, so we’d like to keep taking on new challenges moving forward.”
Although Resident Evil has yet to set a game in Japan, the same can’t be said for Konami’s Silent Hill series. Last year the publisher released Silent Hill F, which shifts the series from its typical American town setting to a small Japanese village in the 1960s.
“It’s a game that somehow manages to feel just like a Silent Hill game and nothing like a Silent Hill game in equal measure, but given that the series has had its fair share of disappointing releases over the years I’ll happily take more games like this which take the formula in different, sometimes very surprising directions,” VGC’s Silent Hill F review said.
