Resident Evil Requiem Initially Conceived as Online Game, Producer Reveals

Resident Evil Requiem was originally intended to be an online game, according to producer Masachika Kawata. In a recent interview, Kawata explained that the team initially explored an online direction but ultimately decided to focus on horror instead.

The revelation comes from the BIOHAZARD 30th Special Mook, a 124-page full-color fan book that chronicles the series' timeline, creature genealogy, and includes developer interviews. In the book, Kawata says, "Every game is a continuous process of trial and error. For example, with Resident Evil Requiem, [game director Koshi Nakanishi] initially went so far as to develop it as an online game. However, the results of research conducted partway through development were not favorable, so we decided to prioritize the horror concept once again and abandoned the online direction."

Kawata also shared that Leon was the first character chosen as a protagonist, but the team felt that his combat prowess would make the game too action-oriented and less scary. "Leon was also the first character confirmed to appear as a protagonist. However, we determined that with Leon alone, who excels in combat, 'horror would no longer work,' so it was decided to introduce Grace as a new character," he said. He further explained that Capcom deliberately withheld Leon's involvement to maintain interest until release: "by keeping the full picture of the game, which would develop along both the horror and action sides, until the very end, we were able to successfully maintain interest in it up until release."

The idea of an online Resident Evil game is not entirely new. Capcom management had previously pushed for multiplayer and microtransactions during the conceptual phase of Resident Evil 7. Franchise producer Jun Takeuchi recalled in 2022, "Right around that time, there was a big push at Capcom, a big 'marketing' push, saying 'we have to make the games players are asking for.' So we were being told 'make this, make that', it was really hard on the directors at the time. 'Online multiplayer' this, 'downloadable content' that. 'Ongoing service games! Microtransactions! Make a Resident Evil game that ticks all those boxes!'" He added, "The idea of multiplayer got killed off pretty quickly. If we could properly put it together, we could make an exciting horror multiplayer game, but we didn’t really have any good ideas, so we set it aside. We went down the list, chopping them out, until we had marketing’s worst nightmare — a regular old single-player horror game."

Capcom continues to push forward with its major IPs, including Resident Evil. The series recently saw a film adaptation directed by Zach Cregger, and a Code Veronica remake is scheduled for release in February next year. Given that RE9's developers decided against an online version, it's possible that another online Resident Evil title could emerge in the future — perhaps another Resident Evil Outbreak?