The Resident Evil series could potentially set a future installment in Japan—a setting that no mainline game has ever visited. While no new game set in Japan has been confirmed, Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa discussed the possibility in a recent interview, sparking fan speculation about what such a game might entail.
Speaking to Japanese outlet Futaman, with translations provided by IGN, Kumazawa said a Japan-set Resident Evil game has been considered. "I think every Japanese Resident Evil fan has definitely thought about a Japan setting, and I’ve also considered it myself," he stated. "As the series is primarily developed by staff in Japan, I think everyone on the dev team has probably thought about it. Even though Japan hasn’t appeared as a setting for the games yet, I think it might at some point in the future."
While the series has primarily taken place in the US, it has also explored fictional locations elsewhere, such as Resident Evil Village's Eastern European setting and Resident Evil 5's controversial West African setting. However, we have yet to see Umbrella Corp's impact on Japan.
Silent Hill f transported Konami's iconic horror series to 1960s Japan last year, sparking discussions on Reddit and other forums about why Japan's other major survival horror franchise hasn't yet adopted a Japanese setting. While some Japanese-speaking commenters are enthusiastic about the idea, many hope such a game would avoid a traditional village setting, which has been overused by other Japanese horror games like Silent Hill f, Fatal Frame, and Siren.
On the other hand, some fans point out that Japan's many small islands could serve as inspiration for in-game locations during a virus outbreak.
In response to Kumazawa's comments, some Japanese fans noted that Capcom's survival horror franchise has featured a Japanese main character before, but only in a spin-off exclusive to Japan. Takeru Tominaga is the protagonist of the official Resident Evil manga Biohazard Heavenly Island. He's the assistant director of Idol Survival, a reality TV show featuring bikini-clad models on a Caribbean island that happens to be the former site of an Umbrella Corp lab. Soon, he and the remaining contestants and crew fight against the zombifying T-virus. "Even if it’s difficult for them to make a Resident Evil set in Japan, a Japanese protagonist might be possible," mused a user on X. The games also feature a few Japanese or half-Japanese characters, including Resident Evil Outbreak's Yoko Suzuki and, of course, Jill Valentine.
Kumazawa also assured fans that despite its final-sounding title, Resident Evil Requiem is by no means the end of the series. Although Requiem wraps up or pays tribute to some iconic elements ("It’s a Requiem for Leon’s battles against bioterrorism, and a requiem for the past Raccoon City incident"), Kumazawa added that "There are still many things we'd like to do, such as telling the stories of characters that didn’t appear in Requiem."
He also said future Resident Evil games will "preserve the core elements of the series" and stay true to established characters and settings while experimenting with new ideas. "Players will get bored if we just keep making the same kind of games, so we'd like to continue taking on new challenges." He cited Village's Megamycete concept and Requiem's POV switching as examples of new ideas the dev team has tried to keep the series fresh.
As for what's next for Capcom's survival horror series, Kumazawa hopes fans are looking forward to the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem story expansion. Meanwhile, Resident Evil is also getting a new movie set in Raccoon City, hitting theaters this September.
