As a huge fan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I found Resident Evil 7 appealed to me on a carnal level. The fact that it was a course correction from the glossy, over-the-top theatrics of its predecessor helped too. According to a producer on the sequel, we can thank The Last of Us for the indirect inspiration.
Over on BlueSky, Miguel Corti, a former senior manager of global production at Capcom, went long on the circumstances leading up to the seventh mainline entry of the storied series. "It may surprise you to learn that the originally planned Resident Evil 7 went through a few iterations," he writes.
"Instead of taking cues from Call of Duty, they were all coming from The Last of Us, with even a mandate to focus on narrative, since that seemed like the only rationale to make a single-player game anymore," he adds.
It may surprise you to learn that the originally planned RE7 went through a few iterations. Instead of taking cues from CoD, they were all coming from The Last of Us, with even a mandate to focus on narrative, since that seemed like the only rationale to make a single-player game anymore.
— @miguel-corti.bsky.social (@miguel-corti.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-10-19T16:42:32.632Z
He mentions Call of Duty because the FPS franchise's zombies mode had grown a formidable community by the early 2010s, making it a worthwhile touchstone for what people want from experiences involving the undead. However, Naughty Dog's dystopian parable very much absorbed a lot of that attention once it arrived.
The fact The Last of Us was both a commercial and critical darling was deeply appealing to the team on the ground, even though execs were happy with how Resident Evil 6 performed. "The devs wanted the critical acclaim other games were garnering, especially since many of them were obviously influenced by Resident Evil," Corti says. "So, Resident Evil 7, not only would it be narrative-driven, it would have even more lore connections."
The general approach of 6 was messy - it featured multiple characters, in a confusing story that didn't make clear additions to the mythology. 7 went through many iterations, but, in my view, wound up cleaner, more dialed in, and, to be frank, scarier, making it a win all around.
Sales were lower than The Last of Us, but most games come up short compared to Joel and Ellie's journey across the cordyceps-torn US. Resident Evil 7 re-invigorated the community, leading to 8 and this year's Requiem, and making 6 seem like a distant memory.
