Resident Evil Remakes Will Eventually 'Crossover' With New Games, Producer Says

Capcom executive producer Jun Takeuchi says the remake series will eventually catch up to the numbered titles, with preparations underway since Resident Evil Village.

Ever wonder what happens when Capcom runs out of classic Resident Evil games to remake? Turns out the publisher has been thinking about that for years.

In a Japanese magazine special marking the series' 30th anniversary, executive producer Jun Takeuchi explained that Resident Evil currently runs on a two-pronged approach: numbered titles deliver the ongoing drama, while the remake series lets you revisit the past. Eventually, he says, the remakes will catch up to the era of the numbered games, and Capcom is already working out how that will work.

According to Takeuchi, preparations for this "crossover" have been quietly underway since Resident Evil Village. He points to the reappearance of names like Umbrella and Spencer, plus the return of Raccoon City in Requiem, as pieces of that larger plan. In other words, those nostalgic nods may not be pure fan service.

Now, before you sprint to the comments to declare Resident Evil 5 and 6 remakes confirmed, pump the brakes. Fans are already reading it that way, but the quote stops well short of an actual announcement. Given how well the previous remakes performed and the fact that Resident Evil Veronica is on the way, more remakes feel like a safe bet. That said, Takeuchi's words are setup, not a reveal.

What's genuinely interesting is what this crossover might look like. Requiem already blended old and new Resident Evil, pulling Umbrella Corporation and Raccoon City back into the spotlight. Takeuchi also touched on the meaning behind the "RE" in RE:2, tying it to both "remake" and "response," and noted that the title was greenlit on the condition that Resident Evil 7 succeeded.

Then things get cryptic. Takeuchi says you should understand the meaning of the crossover before the series hits its 40th anniversary, and offers a hint: Requiem wasn't named just for the word's meaning. The spelling, REQUIEM, contains both "RE" for response and a "Q" for question, meaning the title presents an answer and a question alike. He promises to explain more someday.

If you do the math, that 40th anniversary hint points toward roughly 2036, suggesting Capcom has another decade of Resident Evil planned. Whether that means remakes colliding with new storylines or something stranger, we'll have to wait and see. What do you think this crossover will actually look like?