Capcom’s strategy for managing its most famous survival horror franchise over the past decade has become one of the most successful moves in the modern gaming industry. By developing completely new numbered entries alongside ambitious remakes of classic Resident Evil games, the Japanese publisher has managed to satisfy both longtime fans and a new generation of players.
However, with more remakes reportedly on the way and the list of untouched classics getting shorter, one obvious question remains: what happens when the remakes finally catch up with the modern entries?
The answer comes directly from the top of the development team.
Jun Takeuchi, executive producer of the series and a longtime Capcom veteran who has worked on Resident Evil since the 1990s, has confirmed that the company already has a detailed plan for the point at which the two development paths begin to overlap.
Two Parallel Paths and a Carefully Prepared Crossover
Looking at Resident Evil’s release structure over the past decade, the franchise has essentially operated on two parallel tracks.
On one side, games such as Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil Requiem have pushed the story forward while exploring new narrative directions.
On the other, modern versions of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4, alongside the upcoming Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake, have allowed players to revisit classic entries with modern visuals, mechanics and presentation.
With unofficial reports also suggesting that remakes of Resident Evil 0 and the original Resident Evil are in development, there is increasingly little distance left before Capcom reaches Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6.
That means the gap between the franchise’s past and present is becoming smaller with every new project.
Takeuchi explained that Capcom has been thinking about this eventual meeting point for quite some time, with groundwork for such a crossover being laid as far back as the development of Resident Evil Village.
Interestingly, some of those foundations were established even earlier.
Capcom views Resident Evil 7: Biohazard as a crucial turning point for the franchise. References to Umbrella, Spencer and Raccoon City within newer games were initially conceived largely as fan service.
The response from the community, however, surprised the developers.
Players enthusiastically embraced every connection to the older games, often developing extensive theories around ideas that the developers themselves had only discussed internally.
That reaction encouraged Capcom to push the integration between old and new elements even further in Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil Requiem.
Why Spin-Off Games Matter to Resident Evil’s Future
This wider strategy also helps explain why Capcom decided to remake Resident Evil Code: Veronica, which is currently expected to arrive in 2027.
Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi explained that the development team has deep respect for the original 2000 game and considers Code: Veronica every bit as important to Resident Evil’s wider storyline as the numbered entries, despite not having a number in its title.
Because of that, the team wants the remake to properly communicate the game’s narrative importance to modern audiences.
Capcom’s approach suggests that the eventual convergence of its remake and mainline Resident Evil projects is not being treated as an improvised decision or a simple opportunity to capitalize on the franchise’s popularity.
Instead, it appears to be part of a carefully planned evolution of one of gaming’s longest-running franchises.
When the remakes finally catch up with the numbered games, Capcom does not appear to be heading toward a dead end. Instead, the company is preparing for a more deliberate narrative crossover in which Resident Evil’s past and present could eventually become part of one increasingly unified timeline.
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