Which Resident Evil will Capcom remake next?
A look at Capcom's options, and what they are most likely to pursue
It’s been 7 months since the remake of Resident Evil 4 was released. It was the third remake in the franchise’s recent history, and one that a vast majority of gamers and critics ended up loving. In September, Capcom announced the Separate Ways DLC campaign and then released it less than a week later; this is a virtual shadowdrop by franchise standards, given that Capcom typically makes gamers wait at least a few months for anything to release following its announcement.
It goes without saying that a Resident Evil 9 (that is, the 9th numbered RE game) is currently in development and should be announced sometime in the next 12-24 months, based on precedent.
But what about Capcom’s separate remake pipeline? Given how well RE4 is selling and reviewing, and the fact its DLC has been released, it’s only natural that Capcom would want the Remake Team to move onto developing a successor to RE4. What could they possibly be working on now?
For the first time since Capcom launched their remake pipeline in 2015, there isn’t an obvious win-all choice for what Capcom can choose to remake next. In 2015, remaking RE2 was a no-brainer and something fans had wanted for over a decade by that point. And of course, given how intertwined the original Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis were thematically, it was only a matter of time before RE3 would also get the remake treatment. Capcom saw this coming early and greenlit the RE3 remake by mid-2016, around the time ex-PlatinumGames CEO Tatsuya Minami founded production company M-TWO.
Following RE3, Capcom ultimately decided to remake RE4, which both the RE2 and RE3 remake development teams participated in, with the RE2 team handling the main campaign and the RE3 team working on Separate Ways.
So what should Capcom work on next? Let’s go over the four choices, in order of their original release dates:
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica
Resident Evil (2002 remake)
Resident Evil 0
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica Remake
As we all know by now, Capcom’s decision to go from RE3 directly to RE4 meant that Resident Evil CODE: Veronica was ultimately skipped over, despite its plot and characters being highly relevant to the timeline. CV may lack a number due to late 90s console war politics, but it’s still more of a sequel to RE2 than RE3 is. And while it isn’t (directly) connected to RE4 story-wise, RE5’s basic plot relies on knowledge of what happened in CV in order to make sense.
Could Capcom remake CV after RE4? This would involve going back six years in the timeline, from 2004 to 1998. There would be a tonal shift back to slower gameplay featuring traditional zombies in claustrophobic environments. We’d finally get to see what happens to Claire after the events of RE2 in the remake timeline, something that RE4 doesn’t bother mentioning at all (the original had no need for it).
CV is my pick for the most likely next remake. I think post-RE4, and obviously before RE5, is the perfect time for it. In terms of gameplay design, CV should be similar to RE2, a gameplay style Capcom hasn’t employed since 2019, making a potential CV remake a change of pace from the hub-focused Village and the more linear and action-focused RE3 and RE4 remakes. Chris, Claire, and Wesker are popular characters and would be effective in Capcom’s marketing.
Random Thoughts:
Back in 2020, I wrote on Biohaze about Capcom potentially shifting away from numbered games after Village. If Capcom does decide to go this route, CV would fall neatly within that initiative.
In Japan, the three recent remakes were a pseudo-combination of the Biohazard name and the RE abbreviation that Japanese fans are now familiar with. RE2 is called Biohazard RE:2, RE3 is Biohazard RE:3 and RE4 is Biohazard RE:4. I like the Japanese titles as it’s easier to differentiate between the remakes and the originals. But I’m not sure how Capcom could keep this branding for CODE: Veronica without it sounding a bit awkward (or like a Square Enix game). Biohazard RE: Code Veronica doesn’t really look or sound too catchy. Maybe Biohazard Re:code Veronica?
Some of the sensitive themes in the original CV will require a more thoughtful approach in any remake. To Capcom’s credit, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is already ahead of the original CV in this regard, but a remake would need to be sensibly designed.
Resident Evil Re-Remake
This is an interesting option to explore. The 2002 remake is incredibly well-respected among the gaming community, perhaps second only to the original RE4. It’s still frequently regarded as one of the more pure survival horror games among any franchise, and a classic game all around. It’s so good that some gamers understandably see it as a complete replacement over the 1996 original.
At the same time, the 2002 title is tonally at odds with the other remakes. Design-wise, it belongs with the 32-bit era titles more than with any of the recent games. I envision modern audiences appreciating an over-the-shoulder remake of the game that started it all, and one that fits in nicely with RE2, RE3 and RE4. Given how well a so-so game like RE3 remake sold (8 million units as of this writing), an RE1 remake would probably be a shoo-in for 10 million sales.
Either way, I think a new version of RE1 is inevitable in this decade, but I think it’s unlikely to be the next one. For one, it’s difficult to position this title next to RE4, whereas at least CV can be pushed as the other sequel to RE2 (exactly 13 years ago today, Hideki Kamiya tweeted about Claire and Leon getting their own follow ups in the form of CV and RE4 respectively).
Random Thoughts:
A game getting a second remake isn’t unheard of in this day and age. Square Enix has remade Final Fantasy III twice. The original Pokemon games, which were released in 1996 less than a month before the original RE, sort of got their second remake in 2018 with Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee.
Both the RE2 and RE4 remakes draw new content from their cancelled precursors, “Resident Evil 1.5” and “Resident Evil 3.5,” respectively. The 2002 remake already brought back content pruned from the 1996 original, so I’m curious to see what would be added to yet another remake. I’d like to see more background information on Ozwell E. Spencer myself, with some references to Mother Miranda in Village given the connection they have.
I actually think a first-person remake of RE1 would be more interesting than an over-the-shoulder one. RE1 and RE7 are similar in many ways, and I think an RE1 remake would, ironically and hilariously, serve as a nice successor to RE7 in a way Village wasn’t. With Capcom throwing a VR mode into new RE games these days and having to develop the game with an alternative viewpoint anyway, Capcom would do well to make first-person an option for an RE1 remake.
In Japan, the 2002 and 1996 titles are differentiated very subtly in how they are spelled out. The original is officially called BIO HAZARD (in all caps, with the space between Bio and Hazard), while the 2002 remake is called biohazard (one word, all lowercase). Another remake would likely be called Biohazard RE:1.
Resident Evil 0 Remake
I don’t actually know anyone who thinks Resident Evil 0 is going to be the next remake, nor do I know anyone who wants it to be. The one thing RE0 has going for it in the running is that it’s the earliest title in the series chronologically, so in theory, it’d be easy for Capcom to market an RE0 remake as a return to the origins of the series, and for everything to flow out from there (most likely RE1, but also CV and RE5).
Despite solid sales of the HD Remaster, RE0 just doesn’t have much going for it in terms of marketability. The original game isn’t bad, but can be rather unremarkable and flawed in several respects. Nothing really important happens in the plot, which is actually a byproduct of its origins as a Nintendo 64 exclusive title and Capcom not wanting RE0’s story to be dependent on games not available on the N64. Rebecca Chambers probably can’t carry an RE game’s entire marketing cycle (in the West, anyway; Rebecca’s actually popular in Japan) on her own the same way Leon, Jill or Chris can.
However, if we look at what Capcom changed with RE3 and assume they would be willing to make extensive changes to a future RE, I think the prospect of an RE0 remake could be significantly more exciting than an RE1 remake if Capcom took an ambitious approach to it.
Imagine if RE0 were repurposed into an online co-op title in the vein of RE5, with influences from Resident Evil: Outbreak sprinkled in for good measure. RE0 would retain some of its unique elements while being significantly different from the rest of the numbered RE lineup. RE5 and Resident Evil 6 receive a lot of criticism for different reasons, but the online co-op is well-liked in both titles, and RE0 could be a nice way to introduce this to the RE Engine era.
That being said, unless Capcom really values going in chronological order above all else, I think the chances of RE0 being the next remake are nil. There are more interesting options out there.
Random Thoughts:
RE0 is similar the OG RE3 in the sense that it’s a less-liked companion piece to a well-loved entry. RE0 exists to contextualize RE1’s plot, while RE3 adds background to the Raccoon City tragedy introduced in RE2. I imagine any RE0 remake would maintain this dynamic, but RE3 remake actually introduced a few things to raise its significance relative to RE2. I would hope RE0 remake could achieve something similar.
I can see RE0 remake being developed in parallel to another more important game, such as RE1 remake. This would, interestingly enough, mirror the original RE0, which was developed in tandem with the 2002 remake. Maybe Tatsuya Minami’s M-TWO could take the helm, given that Minami was the Producer of the original.
Aside from its connection to RE1, an RE0 remake could potentially serve as a nice distant-prequel to an RE5 remake. RE0 introduces the Progenitor Virus in earnest, which is a huge plot point in RE5. There are a few other implied connections between the two, which remakes of both games could delve deeper into.
An online RE0 remake could serve as a nice technical experiment before Capcom embarks on an RE5 remake, which would be a significant release given the 2009 original’s longstanding status as the best-selling entry.
An RE0 remake arriving next (or otherwise earlier than a retread of RE1), in my view, would make an RE1 remake an inevitability (this isn’t necessarily true of the reverse). RE0, out of necessity, ends on a cliffhanger, and people need to play RE1 to find out what’s next. It would be tonally dissonant to experience a flashy new RE Engine RE0… only to be told to go play a two-decade GameCube remaster to continue the story.
Earlier, I raised a point about Capcom potentially eschewing numbers in future RE games. While Capcom could easily go with Biohazard RE:0 and/or Biohazard RE:1, these two games could easily be renamed without numbers while preserving their place in the timeline.
Fairly sure opera-singing Marcus is out in a remake.
Resident Evil 5 Remake
And at last, we make it to the final option, and one that’s a very popular assumption to make. RE4’s Separate Ways DLC ended with some not-so-subtle references to events that will eventually take place in RE5, including the use of a well-known music track from that game. It’s hard to blame people for being sure RE5 is the next remake.
But will it really be the next one? It’s a lot more complicated than simply 5 coming after 4. As I mentioned above, RE5 is highly dependent on CODE: Veronica for its most crucial story beats, but even beyond that, RE5 is the culmination of every RE that preceded it, except maybe RE2. The Wesker-Chris rivalry goes back to RE1, there is an important reference related to Jill’s story in RE3, RE0 introduced the Progenitor Virus, and RE4 leads into RE5 with Las Plagas. RE5’s raison d'être is to put a bow on 13 years’ worth of storyline.
Without a proper CV remake, modern RE fans won’t know why Wesker is back after dying in RE1, nor will they know why Chris and Wesker hate each other so much. Even if a modern RE fan knows Chris from playing Resident Evil HD Remaster (a tall order, given the 9.10 million unit sales difference between the RE2 remake and RE HD Remaster), he wouldn’t be fleshed out as a character by the time the RE5 remake releases, since fans would only be familiar with his smaller appearances in RE7 and Village.
RE5, despite being widely regarded as inferior to RE4, at least rewarded long time followers of the franchise. RE5 felt like a true event for the RE IP, and I think it’s crucial for an RE5 remake to recreate this aura. While I’m sure today’s Capcom has what it takes to develop a strong remake of RE5, without at the very least a CV remake to precede it, it would have less impact on me than the original did.
I admit there’s a high probability that RE5 is the next remake, and it’s more a matter of when, rather than if, but my bet still goes to one of either CV or RE1 as being the next one in line.
Random Thoughts:
Like CV, some depictions in RE5 need a fresh and more thoughtful approach for a remake. I’m not suggesting the core premise must change, but times are different now and Capcom shouldn’t ignore this.
I recognize that RE5 is nearly 15-years old at this point, and many contemporaries like Dead Space and The Last of Us have been remade to critical acclaim. Still, I can’t help but think it’s just too soon for RE5, especially with CV and RE0 still yet to be remade. RE5 can use some significant quality of life updates, but in my opinion it’s also the first remake-eligible game in which the original assets are on par with a modern game and wouldn’t really get better with a remake, especially the music, sound effects and most of the voice acting. Depending on how one assesses RE6’s uneven visual quality, RE5 is still arguably the best looking MT Framework RE, and wasn’t surpassed visually until RE7 was released 8 years later.
Once RE5 is out of the way, and assuming Capcom has or will remake CV afterwards, people’s eyes will turn towards an RE6 remake… I don’t think the Capcom of today would ever make a game that large ever again, but maybe their streak of strong titles will continue and they can pull it off in time for the game’s 20th anniversary in 2032.
The Dark Horse Entries
Finally, I want to give quick shout outs to some unlikely, but not impossible candidates for remakes:
Resident Evil Revelations - This could certainly benefit from a remake, at least in a tonal sense. But at the same time, the plot is very minor in the grand scheme of things, and could in theory be neatly summarized in an RE4 remake.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles - RE4 remake makes several references to Operation Javier, the original campaign from Darkside Chronicles starring Leon and Jack Krauser. It changes substantial details as well, to the point where people are wondering if this could serve as another round of DLC for RE4. This seems unlikely, but crazier things have happened in the series.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - To this day, it’s crazy how the fall of Umbrella is relegated to a spinoff rail shooter. A remake would certainly make for a substantial entry, and would have a strong cast with Jill, Chris, and Wesker. That said, I see this story becoming background plot noise in an RE5 remake rather than being remade.
Resident Evil: Outbreak / Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2 - Unlikely, but worth a mention since these were the only spinoffs Capcom bother mentioning in their 25th anniversary portal website (even the two Chronicles games were neglected here).
Dino Crisis - Doubt it.