Capcom has revealed that Resident Evil Village was already in development for six months at the time Resident Evil 7 was released. While it’s not uncommon for companies to have plans for sequels, especially when it comes to established franchises, director Morimasa Sato told IGN that the developers were a little worried about this approach because Resident Evil 7 was a departure from the series.
“We were still busy developing Resident Evil 7, but my boss told me to start planning for the next entry in the series,” Sato revealed. “At the time, we had no idea how users would react towards the new horror experience and characters of 7 yet. We had no idea how the change of perspective would be received, so at first we were quite worried. But when we released Resident Evil 7 about half a year after the development of Village started, it was received very well. This helped us decide to make Village a direct sequel.”
Resident Evil Village is a sequel to Resident Evil 7, but it’s heavily inspired by Resident Evil 4‘s DNA. Producer Tsuyoshi Kanda told IGN that Capcom has “designed the game and its structure with Resident Evil 4’s essence in mind.”
“In the history of the series, I believe that Resident Evil 4 is where the action and combat evolved the most,” added Sato. “Interestingly, Resident Evil 4 was also set in a village. For Resident Evil Village, we’re bringing the essence of Resident Evil 4, while Resident Evil 7 functions as the base for the game. It’s not a reboot of Resident Evil 4, but the offspring of both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 4.”
Resident Evil Village will release on May 7th.
[Source: IGN]
