What comes after the Resident Evil remakes?
After the announcement of the long-awaited Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, Capcom has confirmed that there are plans in place for when the publisher eventually runs out of remakes to make. The publisher considers Resident Evil 7 a “turning point” for the franchise, and now develops the series “along two tracks,” according to a recently-released Biohazard 30th anniversary magazine.
As Capcom slowly runs out of runway for its Resident Evil remake series, the developer says it is making preparations for a “crossover.”
Resident Evil Veronica
Release date: 2027
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Capcom
Is Capcom remaking Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6?
Jun Takeuchi, an executive producer of the Resident Evil franchise at Capcom, recently had some interesting words to share on the future of the series for its 30th anniversary. In a newly-released special-edition magazine, Takeuchi spoke on the current release format for the franchise, which alternates between a remake of an older game set in the past, and an all-new mainline entry set in the present.
This format was established with the release of 2019's Resident Evil 2, with remakes of Resident Evil 3 and 4 following after. Instead of remaking Resident Evil 5 next, however, Capcom revealed that it would instead remake Resident Evil: Code Veronica, an older title that many fans consider to be a mainline entry, albeit with dated gameplay mechanics.
That leaves Resident Evil 0, 5, and 6 without remakes in the mainline franchise. With only a few games left to remake, and Resident Evil 5 and 6 falling outside the ‘classic games’ category due to their relative newness, fans have questioned when the remake series might come to an end.
However, Takeuchi hints that as the remake series goes on, Capcom is introducing classic elements like mentions of the Umbrella Corporation and Oswell E. Spencer into the mainline series “in preparation for a ‘crossover’, though what that means exactly is left vague.
Takeuchi said (courtesy of RENEWS on Twitter/X):
"The current “Resident Evil” series is being developed along two tracks: the numbered titles allow players to experience the ongoing story of the series, while the remake series allows them to experience the past. 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. In fact, we have been gradually preparing for that since around “Resident Evil 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.’”
The producer continued:
“One of the reasons we regard “7” as a turning point for the series is that it was also the title where we began working on this kind of setup. At first, we included these elements with the sense that they were fan service, but users were far more delighted by them than we had imagined, and they even began analyzing the thoughts that the development team had privately kept to itself. So, as a series, we decided to respond to users’ expectations and pushed this setup further in “Village” and “Requiem.””
The mainline series has recently begun teasing an overarching story related to an enigmatic organisation called the Connections, which in itself has ties to Umbrella and various characters in the franchise. If we were to put our tinfoil hat on, Capcom might be teasing an eventual crossover of storylines between both the remakes and the mainline series; though what that might look like is still unclear.
Interestingly, Takeuchi's admission that “the remake series will catch up with the era of the numbered titles” also seems to confirm the inevitability of future Resident Evil 5 and 6 remakes, if indirectly. For now, fans can only look to the next entry in the Resident Evil franchise for a clearer idea of where this is all going: Resident Evil Veronica.
