Resident Evil is one of Capcom's biggest franchises, having had numerous game releases, books, film adaptations, and more. And with Resident Evil 7 becoming the biggest sales success in the franchise's history, Capcom is leaning into Resident Evil more than ever before, with numerous projects in the works for the popular survival-horror series. Capcom has released so much Resident Evil content lately that it's effectively become an annual franchise, and to some fans, that could be worrying.
After all, annual franchises have a tendency to burn people out, and do damage to a brand. We've seen it before with series like Assassin's Creed and Guitar Hero, not to mention the countless sports titles that are released every year. However, just because Resident Evil is seemingly becoming an annual franchise, that doesn't mean that it has to struggle to innovate or burn fans out on the series.
With the way the Resident Evil franchise works, Capcom is in a unique position to release major new entry each year without the risk of burning out fans. Here is exactly how Capcom can turn Resident Evil into an annual franchise.
First- and Third-Person Games
Resident Evil 7's critical and commercial success proves that fans of the franchise are open to Capcom taking big risks with the series, as that game abandoned the usual third-person camera for a first-person view. And while Resident Evil 7 retained the core survival-horror, puzzle-solving gameplay that the Resident Evil franchise is known for, that switch to a first-person view still helped the game feel fresh and unique when compared to the many other games in the series.
But while some fans enjoyed Resident Evil 7's first-person view, others would rather see Capcom stick to the third-person camera, especially the over-the-shoulder style used in titles like Resident Evil 4 and the Resident Evil 2 remake. Since both of these styles have proven popular with Resident Evil fans, Capcom could safely alternate between them, which would help keep the franchise from getting stale.
For example, 2021 is set to feature the launch of Resident Evil 8, which is looking to replicate the first-person viewpoint used by Resident Evil 7, and is serving as a direct sequel to that game. However, rumors from reliable sources have indicated that Capcom's next major Resident Evil project after RE8 is a full-blown Resident Evil 4 remake, which would presumably retain that game's signature third-person, over-the-shoulder camera.
Resident Evil 4 remake is rumored for release in 2022, giving RE fans a third-person game one year after the first-person RE8. This would already put it on track to an alternating between first- and third-person Resident Evil games from one year to the next.
Spin-Offs and Ports
It seems as though the new main series Resident Evil games are going to stick with the first-person viewpoint, at least for now, and so one problem could be the time it takes to develop these games. Capcom is unlikely to release Resident Evil 9 in 2023, and so there would potentially need to be something else to fill that gap. Luckily, there are a number of different ways Capcom could still keep the Resident Evil series feeling fresh as an annual franchise.
In the intervening years when Capcom doesn't have a new first-person or third-person Resident Evil game ready to go, it could fall back on spin-offs and ports. There have been countless Resident Evil spin-off games released over the years, ranging from the Revelations side stories to on-rails shooters, and so it could very well ensure that it maintains the annual release schedule by making these kinds of smaller-scale games as well. Fans also likely wouldn't complain if the Resident Evil: Outbreak series made a comeback as well.
And of course, with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles launching soon, Capcom has the opportunity to port all of the old Resident Evil games to the new systems. Capcom has shown a great desire to port the Resident Evil games to as many consoles as possible, and maybe these ports would even include some next-generation enhancements to make the re-releases worthwhile.
Resident Evil Has Basically Been An Annual Franchise Before
It should also be noted that Resident Evil has basically been an annual franchise before with no real ill effects for public perception of the series. In fact, a new Resident Evil game was released every year from 1998 to 2005, and in some cases, multiple new Resident Evil games were released in the same year. More recently, a new Resident Evil game was released annual from 2015-2017, and then again from 2019-2021.
So if Capcom does decide to stick with Resident Evil being an annual franchise, fans shouldn't worry about the series losing its luster or failing to innovate.