Resident Evil Requiem devs reveal RE9 was an online open-world shooter, but realised no one actually wanted that

Capcom has experimented a lot with Resident Evil in the past. We saw the online co-op Outbreak games, rail-shooter Survivor games and multiplayer spin-offs Resistance and Re:Verse. Celebrating the series’ 30^th anniversary, Resident Evil Requiem is a back-to-basics horror title with both first and third-person mechanics, but it wasn’t always.

Over the past few years, there have been numerous leaks for what is essentially Resident Evil 9. Leaks have claimed that the game would have vampire enemies, that it would be open-world, that there would be online mechanics… and that’s all true. However, Capcom eventually changed course to make a traditional Resi experience that still feels new.

Yes, Resident Evil Requiem was open-world

Speaking in a recent development diary, Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi showed off an early in-development version of the game. This version of the game was open-world with multiple protagonists and extreme action-combat. (A Resi 6 spiritual successor?)

During development, Capcom learned their lesson, dialling back on the action blockbuster, multi-character adventure that put the series in hot water over a decade ago and returning to the horror themes the series does so well.

“We were even exploring many different systems early in development,” producer Masachika Kawata said. “You might have heard some of the rumors,” added Nakanishi. “Things like an online Resident Evil, or an open-world Resident Evil, which we spent some time experimenting with.”

Nakanishi explained that despite the “interesting concepts”, the game that they ended up making “wasn’t what fans wanted to see or play”. With this, the team went “back to the drawing board, and created what led to Resident Evil: Requiem”, a true Resi game that doesn’t change what the franchise is.

Resident Evil Requiem will being players back to Raccoon City, and Kawata notes that the teamh as “managed to pack a lot into this game”. Maybe there will be scenes with more action-packed set pieces—after all, even the scariest entries in the series have them—but it will also be a true Resi game, not a return to the mess that was Resident Evil 6.

Resident Evil Requiem is set to release next year on February 27, 2026 for Xbox Series X and S, PS5 and PC. There’s no planned Nintendo Switch 2 port at the time of writing.

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Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with a decade of experience writing news, reviews, features and investigative pieces about game development with a focus on Halo and Xbox.