Resident Evil 8 is actually called Resident Evil Village, even though the number 8 is in the logo, and yes, Capcom knows that's confusing.
The unusual naming decision was explained, sort of, in a new Famitsu interview translated by Kotaku: "You could call the actual Village another character in the game, and we did that because we would like players to understand that," the game's producers Tsuyoshi Kanda and Peter Fabiano explained.
That tracks with a special developer message shared after the game's debut, in which Kanda took charge on the whole "is it 8 or not" question.
"Well, it's still the eighth in the series, and we're treating it as such," Kanda said. "You can even see the roman numeral 8 in the game logo, so it's Resident Evil 8 - just not in name."
So Capcom definitely wants you to think of Resident Evil Village as Resident Evil 8, or at least the eighth Resident Evil, but it doesn't want to call it that. OK. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was a cute way to tie together the English and Japanese names for the series, but why Village now? Kanda said the misty, mysterious setting is much more than just a location: "It plays such a crucial role as the backdrop and setting of the game that we consider it very much its own character as well."
The developers teased in that special message that they'll have more to show towards the end of summer, so we'll keep our eyes open until then.
