While Resident Evil fans certainly aren’t starved for new content as of late, it appears as if Capcom’s next mainline series entry won’t be arriving for quite some time. The studio, which is currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on Resident Evil 3‘s long-awaited remake, has reportedly hit a number of roadblocks on another anticipated project. Development on Resident Evil 8, it seems, has gotten off to a rough and tumble start.
According to reliable leaker AestheticGamer (who recently also hinted that Konami is working on two new Silent Hill games, by the way), the unannounced sequel to Resident Evil 7 was put on hold back in 2017, with staff relocated primarily to help move along that game’s DLC and RE2 Remake. Rather than return to pick up where they left off on Resident Evil 8 however, Capcom instead decided to scrap the current version entirely.
This decision, says AestheticGamer, was made at some point last year, with the title said to have been rebooted between six and seven months ago. See below for further details:
There was a version of RE8 that was in development since late 2016, though it went on pause during 2017 due to needing more hands on for RE7's DLC and RE2 (which was behind schedule at the time). Still, there was an RE8 version that was in the works for a few years.
— AestheticGamer (@AestheticGamer1) January 21, 2020
anytime soon.
There also won't be any Resident Evil remakes out in the next few years after RE3. There is a couple other Capcom games being rebooted in the same vein as RE2 & RE3 though in the RE Engine, which should be seen pretty soon.
There is another Resident Evil game
— AestheticGamer (@AestheticGamer1) January 21, 2020
Simply put, then, the substantial setback means that Resident Evil 8 shouldn’t be expected to arrive for at least a few years, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the survival horror series will be experiencing a prolonged timeout following the release of this year’s remake. AestheticGamer says that while Capcom has no similar projects in the pipeline, another yet to be announced RE title is currently in the works and will “probably release next year.”
What that could be is anyone’s guess, though one safe bet could be a new Outbreak. Many fans had hoped Project Resistance would ultimately turn out to be just that, and while we now know that not to be the case, Capcom will undoubtedly be aware, now more than ever, that there exists an audience for such ventures. Watch this space for more.
As for Resident Evil 3, the reimagined version of a horror classic is due to release April 3rd for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. See here for the latest trailer.
