Resident Evil 8 will be first-person and take the long-running series in a new direction when it’s released next year, according to a new rumor. If the leak turns out to be true, that would make Resident Evil 8 the first brand-new title in the series since 2017, with Capcom turning its attention to remakes for the past couple years.
Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake may not have been where many fans thought the series would go after the massive changes that came in Resident Evil 7, but it was extremely well received nonetheless, earning nearly universal praise as an improvement on the original game. The developer followed it up with a remake of Resident Evil 3 this year, which wasn’t quite as lauded, but still performed well and introduced the asymmetric multiplayer Resident Evil Resistance. After their success, it makes sense that Capcom would invest in even more remakes, with some speculation that Resident Evil 4 will be remade soon already circulating.
Capcom clearly isn’t pivoting entirely to remakes, though, and it’s been assumed for a while that Resident Evil 8 is in active development. According to a report from Capcom leaker AestheticGamer, who also goes by Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 8 actually began development as Resident Evil Revelations 3, but internal feedback was so positive that it’s being converted into a mainline entry in the series. The work being done on what was originally meant to be Resident Evil 8 has reportedly been put aside for now, where it could be picked back up for a later title. Dusk Golem alleges that Resident Evil 8 will be a huge change of direction for the franchise, featuring elements of occultism, hallucination and insanity sequences, and a general theme of distrusting other characters. According to Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 8 will also be a first-person game.
Like with any leak of this kind, this information hasn’t been officially confirmed and should be treated as a rumor for now. That being said, Dusk Golem has a history of accurate leaks, including information about Resident Evil 2 and 3, and VGC claims to have independently verified the leak. Some of Dusk Golem’s previous claims, including Resident Evil 3 being the last remake for a while and two Silent Hill games being in development, have also yet to be confirmed.
The latest Resident Evil 8 rumor is certainly enticing, especially for fans who’d rather play a new main series Resident Evil game than either of Capcom’s remakes. This leak doesn’t throw up any huge red flags, and may very well be accurate. Even if it isn’t, it seems likely that the next Resident Evil title will be a very different game from previous titles, given the success of Resident Evil 7’s first-person experiment and the security that the recent remakes’ success provides.
Source: AestheticGamer/Twitter, VGC