Resident Evil 9 is official and it's being helmed by Resident Evil 7's director, who says the series should "scare the hell out of you"

As if there was any doubt, Capcom has confirmed it's working on a new Resident Evil game.

Resident Evil is one of Capcom's most enduring and beloved franchises, so it's not surprising to hear there's another one in development now that we're three years out from the most recent mainline installment and more than a year out from the latest entry in the REmake saga.

"We're making a new Resident Evil," said Resident Evil 7 director Koshi Nakanishi said in the Capcom Next Summer 2024 livestream (timestamped here). "It was really difficult to figure out what to do after 7. But I found it, and to be honest it feels substantial. I can't share any details just yet, but I hope you're excited for the day I can."

In the same video, Nakanishi explained the origins of Resident Evil 7, which revitalized the series after the more action-focused fifth and sixth entries failed to leave a lasting impression. According to Nakanishi, the "starting point" for Biohazard came when he and the other developers realized that Resident Evil games should "scare the hell out of you," which is either very exciting or very terrifying depending on how much of a scaredy cat you are. 

Personally, Resident Evil 7 pushed me to my breaking point in terms of my threshold for fear, but that's also because I have a very specific weakness to the bleak, sepia-toned, Hills Have Eyes-type horror that colors Biohazard's first half.

The Resident Evil 9 rumor mill has been churning for years now in an attempt to figure out where the sequel will fit within the Resident Evil timeline. With Nakanishi bringing up 7 and Village, there's a chance it'll follow Resident Evil Village's story and continue focusing on the Winters family, but without any official word from Capcom, it's entirely up in the air at this point.

For more on that, you'd do well to read my colleague Jasmine's take on what Capcom should do next regardless of the veracity of the Resident Evil 9 rumors.