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Resident Evil remakes ‘are just as important as the mainline entries,’ says RE9 producer
Capcom producer Masachika Kawata has said that Resident Evil remakes hold as much value to the studio as new mainline instalments, as the company works to release a Resident Evil title every year. Speaking to Vice, Kawata explained that producing a wholly new mainline game annually would be impractical, so revisiting and rebuilding older titles allows Capcom to hit that release cadence while giving its teams a chance to refine their craft. This matters because it signals remakes such as Resident Evil 2 and 4, widely regarded among the franchise's best entries, will remain central to Capcom's strategy rather than being treated as lesser stopgap projects.
Kawata added that remakes also help fund new mainline entries and fresh IP such as Pragmata, though this focus leaves little room for spinoff titles the team once produced more regularly. Looking ahead, 2027 is expected to bring Resident Evil Veronica, described as more of a reimagining than a straight remake of 2000's Code Veronica, alongside likely downloadable content for the recently released Resident Evil Requiem. Further remakes are anticipated in 2028 and 2029, with a new mainline Resident Evil 10 not expected until around 2030, based on Capcom's historical four-to-five-year gaps between mainline releases in 2017, 2021 and 2026.
In short
- Capcom says RE remakes are as important as mainline games
- Remakes let Capcom aim for annual Resident Evil releases
- Veronica reimagining due 2027; RE10 not expected until 2030
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Remakes represent a pragmatic and creatively sound strategy that maintains franchise momentum whilst respecting production constraints. Games like the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes have demonstrated that thoughtfully rebuilt classics can achieve critical acclaim and commercial success, refining artistic vision across the series. By spacing new mainline entries at sustainable intervals, Capcom preserves quality whilst using remake projects to keep audiences engaged, fund innovation in new intellectual property, and provide development teams with meaningful creative challenges. This approach acknowledges the reality that annual releases of entirely new mainline games would compromise both quality and the resources needed for genuinely fresh narrative experiences.
The case against
Whilst remakes merit investment and can be creatively worthwhile, positioning them as equivalent to new mainline entries conflates two fundamentally different contributions to a franchise. Players invested in Resident Evil's narrative are primarily motivated by discovering where the story progresses next, which remakes cannot provide; waiting until approximately 2030 for Resident Evil 10 whilst intervening years focus on reimagined earlier chapters may feel like stalled momentum rather than genuine development. The reduction in spinoff titles suggests resources are being consolidated around a narrower strategy, potentially limiting variety and experimental storytelling. The distinction between creating something new versus modernising the established deserves acknowledgment; treating them as equal risks obscuring whether this allocation genuinely serves the franchise's long-term vitality or reflects a shortage of resources for original mainline content.
Explained simply
Resident Evil is Capcom's survival horror franchise, and the publisher has long sought to maintain regular releases in the series. Developing a completely new mainline game every year has historically proven too resource-intensive for the studio, so Capcom has adjusted its strategy to alternate between new entries and remakes of earlier titles.
Popular remakes such as Resident Evil 2 and 4 have demonstrated that revisiting older games with modern technology and game design can be as valuable to the franchise as creating entirely new instalments. According to producer Masachika Kawata, this approach allows the studio to maintain an annual release cadence whilst giving teams space to refine their work and fund development of both new mainline entries and other projects.
This explains Capcom's coming release schedule, which includes remakes planned for 2027 and beyond rather than relying solely on fresh mainline entries. It signals that remakes will remain a permanent and central element of the Resident Evil franchise rather than being treated as filler projects between major releases.