Resident Evil Director Masachika Kawata revealed in Tokyo Game Show 2026 that Capcom is planning to release more titles in shorter cycles, projecting at least one game every three years.
Resident Evil Producer Kawata Wants To Release Games Quickly
One Game Every Three Years
Resident Evil producer revealed that Capcom wants to release titles at least once every three years, for both titles in new series and remakes. As revealed in the 30th Anniversary Title Talk Stages in Tokyo Game Show 2026, Masachika Kawata shared that, particularly for the Resident Evil series, earlier directors feared that taking too long in game development would lead to less of an audience and player boredom, especially with the massive audience the series has. Hence, he and other team members thought that things should change.
"My boss named Takeuchi planned to introduce a completely different series alongside startup of a remake series and to release one from each series alternately. This plan has led to what it is today," Kawata said, adding that Resident Evil took much longer to develop in the past. Adding this concept of alternating releases would allow Capcom to launch titles, old and new, in shorter intervals, and so that the game "won’t be forgotten," he added.
This new plan isn’t strictly for Resident Evil only and will extend towards other Capcom franchises as well. In fact, it appears to already be in place: for instance, in 2026 alone, Capcom has released four major titles, all new entries in their respective series—Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Monster Hunter Stories 3, and most recently, Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
Then in 2027, the Resident Evil - Code: Veronica remake, simply called Resident Evil Veronica, will launch, alongside Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, a major expansion for 2025’s MH Wilds. While not a remake, the newest entry in the Mega Man series, Mega Man: Dual Override is also slated for a Spring 2027 release.
He reiterated this point in the public talk panel for the 30th Anniversary Title Talk Stage on September 19th, saying that "By developing these in parallel, we aim to release brand titles in shorter cycles. Ideally, we want to deliver titles to customers as quickly as possible."
Capcom Pushed For One Game A Year, But Kawata Said No
Putting out something new every three years is already a feat, but Capcom appeared to have wanted more—releases every single year, an idea that Kawata immediately shut down. saying that while he agreed that three years can be a bit of a lull in retaining user interest, it’s still a tall order and that’s going a little too far.
"I'm always asking, 'Can you just let us do one every three years?' Game development naturally takes a long time now, but we want to release them as quickly as we can while monitoring quality and current trends. That’s the ideal we strive for, even if it doesn't always work out that way. We hope fans will watch over us warmly," he mentioned.
Even though Kawata says that, Capcom doesn’t seem to need to worry, as their near future already looks bright with many releases planned for 2027 alone.
Source:
【TGS2026】30th Anniversary Title Talk Stage PRE-SHOW PROGRAM【PART2】(English)
【TGS2026】30th Anniversary Title Talk Stage (English)
