Capcom may release a new Resident Evil game every year it could be a huge mistake
Topics: Resident Evil, Capcom, Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft
Featured Image Credit: Capcom
Topics: Resident Evil, Capcom, Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft
Capcom is rumoured to be considering a new Resident Evil release every year, and while fans welcome new adventures, some genuine concerns have been raised.
Right now, it’s fair to say that Capcom’s legendary survival horror series, Resident Evil, has never been hotter. Sure, it’s been an immensely popular franchise since its inception on the original PlayStation in 1996, but right now, it continues to cater to veteran fans while welcoming those who are new.
If reports are true that the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake is currently the best-selling game on current-gen consoles, not to mention the six-million launch sales of Resident Evil Requiem earlier this year, that’s a clear indication of the franchise's modern-day trajectory.
READ MORE: Resident Evil Requiem Review - A Gory, Gruesome, Gorgeous Masterpiece
As reported by The Vice, producer of Resident Evil Requiem, Masachika Kawata, teased that Capcom plans on releasing a new entry of its survival horror series yearly.
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“One of the reasons for creating remakes is that producing a new entry in the Resident Evil series every year would be quite an undertaking and a difficult task,” said Kawata.
“So, being able to revisit older games and remake them helps Capcom meet that goal of releasing a Resident Evil title each year, but it also allows the team to continually challenge themselves and hone their craft. That’s not to say the remakes are any less important. In fact, they’re just as important as the mainline titles.”
READ MORE: 7 Resident Evil Veronica teases to get excited for
“Capcom Wants to Release a New Resident Evil Game Every Year,” reads The Vice headline shared on Reddit, to which fans shared their concerns.
“Ask Ubisoft how it went,” replied DistinctBread3098, with Endroium, adding “or Call of Duty.”
“Ah, the Assassin's Creed strategy that went so damn well,” exclaimed Egnards. IP fatigue is very, very real.”
“Exactly, annual releases sound great until the quality starts falling off a cliff,” said Ok_Sandwich_7866.
“This could be great short term, most likely bad long term,” suggested MonstarLegend.
The Reddit users do share some valid concerns. For example, Assassin’s Creed is Ubisoft’s most popular franchise, which is why it saw yearly releases (sometimes more than one in a year, including spin-offs) that lasted from 2007 to 2018, ending with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
Ubisoft would then take a two-year break, releasing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in 2020, then Assassin’s Creed Mirage in 2023, followed by Assassin’s Creed Shadows in 2025,
However, this year Ubisoft launched the highly anticipated remake Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which could suggest that Ubisoft intends to return to the annual release, especially if the rumours are true that Assassin’s Creed Hexe is arriving in 2027.
That being said, could Ubisoft take inspiration from Capcom? Since the release of the Resident Evil 3 remake in 2020, Capcom has released a remake, followed by a new release, then a remake and so forth. Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Shadows in 2025, then the Black Flag remake this year and potentially the totally new Assassin’s Creed Hexe in 2027.
Ever since Resident Evil was first released in 1996, a new game has been released every year up to 2005 (when you consider Resident Evil: Director’s Cut in 1997). That 14-year consecutive run ended with Resident Evil 4 on the Nintendo GameCube.
Then, from 2007 to 2012, we had sporadic releases that began with Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and ended with Resident Evil 6. Many fans consider this to be the darkest period for the franchise, with the overall quality of the games taking a massive nose-dive.
From 2015 to 2017, we got three consecutive releases with Umbrella Corps (probably the worst game in the series), followed by Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the latter of which is credited for saving the franchise and getting its survival horror roots back on track.
Capitalising on the success of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard with a surge of new and returning fans alike, we were treated to the fantastic Resident Evil 2 remake in 2019, and from that point (including the multiplayer spin-offs Resistance and RE:Verse), we got a new game every year. This period included not only the RE2 remake but also remakes of RE3, RE4, as well as Resident Evil Village, in what would become one of the franchise's most successful windows.
However, between the Resident Evil 4 remake in 2023 and the launch of Resident Evil Requiem this year, there’s a gap of three years. Many might argue that this three-year gap benefited the series as it allowed RE Requiem to cook longer in the oven, and it helped build anticipation from fans. Then in 2027, we’re going to be treated to Resident Evil: Veronica, a remake of the game that originally launched on the SEGA Dreamcast in 2000.
Absolutely, no matter how much we love a video game series, fatigue is real. Perhaps the only exception to that rule, to an extent, is Call of Duty, which, to be fair, has seen a big drop in quality in recent years. But the fact that this franchise has released a new game every year (except in 2004) is nothing short of impressive, whichever way you look at it.
If Capcom and Ubisoft continue with the strategy of releasing a remake, then a new game and so on, it will not only give the developers extra time to create something new, but in the meantime, fans can experience newer versions of the game they love. After all, when done right, nostalgia is often a golden ticket to success.
Capcom and Ubisoft just have to make sure that it doesn't get complacent with success and trigger the dreaded series fatigue. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the coming years.