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Resident Evil and the devs working on the series are currently rolling off the high that was Resident Evil Requiem's launch. As the fastest selling RE game ever, and with some glowing reviews (I gave it a 92 in our Requiem review), it's abundantly clear that the fans want more. And while nothing's been confirmed, the devs have been sharing some ideas.
In a recent interview with Japanese news site Futaman (via Automaton) producer Masato Kumazawa revealed that amid all the brainstorming for future projects, a Resident Evil game set in Japan has crossed the minds of the dev team.
"I think a Japanese setting is something every Japanese Resident Evil fan has thought about," Kumazawa says. "And I’ve also considered it myself. Since the development team is primarily based in Japan, I think every member has given it some thought. While Japan hasn’t appeared as a game setting so far, it might make an appearance at some point in the future."
"If we keep releasing the same kind of game over and over, players will eventually get bored, so we’d like to keep taking on new challenges moving forward."
Kumazawa goes on to explain that the devs aren't massively concerned with following any strict rules for the location of Resident Evil games, or even the timeline for that matter: "We do adjust the timeline based on the assessment that present-day stories help players feel more immersed. The timeline also changes depending on the characters and story we want to portray in each title. Even in Requiem, we have scenes set eight years prior, as well as even earlier periods. So, where the timeline goes from here will depend on the specific title."
Apparently, the team only started portraying characters aging with Resident Evil 4. Requiem is the most obvious case of this with an aged-up Leon initially sending shockwaves through the fanbase.
But just because there's no solid ruleset to follow doesn't mean the devs are going to get too wacky with it. Kumazawa promises fans that they "won't compromise the core elements of the series" such as characters and the events that unfold and will "continue to preserve what the series holds dear". Which I'm guessing means allowing eccentric scientists to keep getting hold of the T-virus, make some disgustingly violent creature with it, and then leave the pen open for it to escape and wreak havoc—you know, classic Resident Evil stuff.
