Resident Evil is one of those franchises that endures no matter what. It’s not just luck, either. Capcom has some of the best institutional knowledge in the business, and many of its directors and producers are constantly up for the challenge of reinventing the iconic survival horror franchise for the better.
In recent years, the publisher has opted to move into a “remake” continuity of sorts, streamlining various bits and bobs from Resident Evil‘s 30-year history in a more palatable format for newcomers. The gambit has mostly paid off so far, culminating most recently in high sales for Resident Evil Revelation. Things seem to be working out for them so far.
Thanks to new information from Resident Evil Veronica producer, we knowthe Resident Evil universe is changing (via IGN).
The Resident Evil You Knew Is Over
In a separate closed-door session at Summer Game Fest (SGF), Resident Evil Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi clarified some points regarding the overall timeline and the status of the remakes:
“What’s most important for the dev team at Capcom is putting the players’ memories first, and then rebuilding the game on top of that. We chose to remake Code: Veronica next after Resident Evil 4 because we want players to experience Claire’s equally important (post RE2) story. I think you will enjoy it even more if you are familiar with the stories of other games in the Resident Evil series. So I highly recommend playing any past titles that you haven’t played yet.”
In other words, you only really need to play the remake series to keep up with Resident Evil, which makes a lot of sense. This was basically the strategy already, but hearing Hirabayashi talk about it makes it seem like there are more changes coming for Veronica that could have a greater impact on the series going forward.
Take Wesker, for example. His gradual change from a mercenary to a superhuman villain and Chris’ demonic nemesis mostly happens in Code: Veronica, trickling throughout the series and culminating in a confrontation in Resident Evil 5. That said, Capcom seems poised to take that whole showdown in a new direction.
Folks are going to have trouble tracking down some of the past retro entries, so asking players to focus on the remakes is a smart, doable strategy. After all, Resident Evil Veronica isn’t even due out until 2027, so you potentially have a year (or more) to catch up:
As a reminder, that includes
- Resident Evil 2 (remake)
- Resident Evil 3 (remake)
- Resident Evil 4 (remake)
- Resident Evil Requiem
As of 2027, Veronica will be added to that list, and it could reconfigure the entire universe.
Resident Evil Streamlining Its Lore Is Not A Bad Thing
On paper, this strategy could play out wonderfully, especially given the amount of care Capcom has given the franchise in recent years. The idea of honoring the original while forging a new path is arguably the ideal approach for a remake, and it’s reaped dividends for the publisher in multiple ways.
After Resident Evil 6, Capcom was at a crossroads. It was so polarizing that they had to rethink the entire approach to the franchise, and Resident Evil 7 did an incredible job at getting people interested all over again. It utterly revitalized the series, and that resplendent era continued on through Resident Evil 8 and, most recently, Requiem.
The Resident Evil remake timeline has done a great job at providing odds and ends and keeping everything in check.
- Video Game(s)
-
Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 3 (2020), Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Cast
-
Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Ali Larter, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Iain Glen, Shawn Roberts, Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John-Kamen
- Created by
-
Shinji Mikami, Tokuro Fujiwara