Resident Evil: Code Veronica Producer Reveals Capcom Will Adjust Story for Series Timeline

The Resident Evil timeline can be tricky to follow depending on where you start, but producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi has confirmed that with the upcoming Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, Capcom is reworking the story to ensure its place in the chronology is clear, while preserving what fans loved about the original.

In a recent press conference at Summer Games Fest reported by Famitsu, Hirabayashi discussed the remake of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, set for release in 2027. The original Code: Veronica launched 27 years ago, and since then, many Resident Evil games have added to the series' lore. Hirabayashi noted that for the remake, Capcom is considering plotlines from other games that connect back to Code: Veronica.

Over the past decade, the franchise has expanded its story with Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Village, and the upcoming Resident Evil 9, as well as the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4. "With Resident Evil: Code Veronica, we are planning to restructure the story so that players can clearly feel how all these titles are part of one cohesive series," Hirabayashi explained.

When asked if the remake will stick to the source material while implementing bold changes similar to the Resident Evil 2 remake, Hirabayashi said "yes," broadly speaking. However, he emphasized that changes won't be made for their own sake. "What's most important for the dev team at Capcom is putting the players' memories first, and then rebuilding the game on top of that," he said. This echoes recent comments from Requiem producer Kumazawa, who stated that future Resident Evil games will "preserve the core elements of the series" while experimenting with new ideas.

While Resident Evil 4 follows Leon S. Kennedy after Resident Evil 2, Code: Veronica covers Claire Redfield's search for her brother Chris. "We chose to remake Code: Veronica next after Resident Evil 4 because we want players to experience Claire’s equally important story after RE2," Hirabayashi said.

Hirabayashi reassured fans that the development team is aware of the strong fan following the original has, stating: "The dev team understands that the original Code: Veronica is on par with the numbered titles." He also confirmed that the same team behind the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes is working on Code: Veronica (the RE3 remake and Requiem were handled by different teams).

Work on the Code: Veronica remake began immediately after Capcom finished the RE4 remake. Like the original, it will be a third-person survival horror game centered on Claire surviving Rockfort Island's T-virus outbreak, with resource management as a key element.

To shape the remake, Hirabayashi explained that the team is blending their respect for the original with player feedback—not just recent comments, but feedback from the entire series up to Requiem. The team has even been digging up comments from when Code: Veronica originally launched in 2000 to understand what players enjoyed about it back then.

Resident Evil: Code: Veronica debuted on the Dreamcast in 2000, with an updated version, Code: Veronica X, coming to PS2 the following year. Hirabayashi noted that while you don't need to play the original to enjoy the remake, "I think you will enjoy it even more if you are familiar with the stories of other games in the Resident Evil series. So I highly recommend playing any past titles that you haven’t played yet." Time to dig into the backlog!