Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa discusses the game’s start as an open world multiplayer title and teases that some of those elements have managed to remain in the current iteration. Even with an early 2026 launch date, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Resident Evil Requiem, though the classic single-player experience was almost something else entirely.
Horror has been a big focus for the Resident Evil team, taking feedback from fans over previous entries in the franchise, with some games being looked down upon more than others for seemingly prioritizing action gameplay. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all, as Capcom previously revealed some ideas to help make Resident Evil Requiem even scarier. While not all of those elements made the cut, fans have seen some of the scary ideas Capcom has been working with, including the new stalker-style monster protagonist Grace Ashcroft has to deal with. Still, there may be more surprising elements that players will come across during playthroughs.
Resident Evil Requiem Teases Multiplayer Elements
In an interview with Press Start, Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa compared the horror to Resident Evil 2, though that wasn’t always the case. During Resident Evil Requiem‘s six-year development, it originally started out as an open-world online multiplayer title. Kumazawa admitted that the main issue was that the game just wasn’t very scary, even though it was fun to play. “But we looked deeply into this game and wondered if a fan of the franchise would really like this, so we thought they would probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much.”
It’s largely because of that reason that Capcom transitioned Resident Evil Requiem back to a traditional single-player experience. However, considering that the original multiplayer prototype was still looked at as being fun to play, some elements from that build were brought forward into the current game. Unfortunately, no additional details were given outside some vague teases from Kumazawa, since he’s not able to disclose anything about what may have made the transition.
I believe fans of the franchise want is survival horror and being scared. That is the number one thing that fans want.
Still, the team honed in on the fact that even with a fun multiplayer experience, longtime fans likely wouldn’t be pleased with a lack of horror, an expectation that comes with the Resident Evil franchise. Kumazawa went on to admit that he believes fans are looking for survival horror elements in the series and want to be scared while playing. “I believe fans of the franchise want is survival horror and being scared. That is the number one thing that fans want.”
During the interview, Kumazawa also touched on the perception that by the end of Resident Evil Village, it had become a bit too action heavy. Kumazawa stressed that the team has focused on horror being the main element of Resident Evil Requiem, though did seemingly tease a small use of action elements to help break up the scares as a sort of distraction, to ensure the next horror section hits harder with players not being prepared for it. Considering how much Leon Kennedy has been teased for Resident Evil Requiem, it’s possible his inclusion could be used to fit those small bits of action segments.
