Former Japanese news anchor and self-proclaimed Resident Evil superfan Risa Unai recently interviewed Resident Evil Requiem’s producer Masato Kumazawa and lead game designer Kenji Fukasawa. Aside from discussing Requiem’s recent success, Unai also asked the developers about the direction future entries will take, especially in terms of possible timelines and settings (source: Futaman).
Although Resident Evil has become a series where characters age with each new entry, Kumazawa says there are actually no strict rules in this regard. “We only started portraying characters aging with Resident Evil 4. 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,” he goes on to explain, “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.”
When it comes to locations, when asked about a potential Resident Evil title set in Japan, the producer says, “I think a Japanese setting is something every Japanese Resident Evil fan has though about, and I’ve also considered it myself. 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.”
Although these are all still hypotheticals, Kumazawa assures that whichever direction the series takes in the future, “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. 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.” As examples of such challenges, Kumazawa cites Requiem’s POV switching as well as Resident Evil Village’s “afterlife” and Megamycete lore.
Additionally, although Resident Evil Requiem coincided with the series 30th anniversary and came with the somewhat grand-sounding title “Requiem,” the developers clarify that this was not intended to position the entry as a major conclusion. “If anything, there are still plenty of things we want to explore, like the stories of the characters who didn’t appear in this game.”
