What if Dragon’s Dogma 2 was a test of Capcom’s in-house engine for its biggest upcoming titles, Resident Evil 9 and Monster Hunter Wilds? This is what this leak suggests.
The information comes to us from a well-known leaker going by the pseudonym Dusk Golem. According to him, Resident Evil 9 could bring an even more radical change to Capcom’s flagship franchise than the FPS view of the first opus. Big changes are also expected from Monster Hunter Wilds, but we already saw it in its trailer shown at the Game Awards.
Open door policy for Resident Evil 9
A little context around the Resident Evil franchise is necessary to understand the content of Capcom’s ambitions. Released in 2012, Resident Evil 6 was the most expensive installment in the franchise. Far too action-oriented, the title was a bitter failure for the Japanese giant. Then arrived the seventh opus, which adopted the FPS view for the first time in the license. The game was praised by critics and audiences for its return to horror roots, despite the radically different perspective. If we are to believe Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 9 could be the next opus with colossal resources and one that will shake up fans’ habits.
The leaker has in fact indicated that the ninth official episode of Capcom’s horrific saga has been in development for years. This would also be explained by the allocation of the large budget for an episode of the franchise. And for good reason, since it would be about offering an open world survival horror! While this type of game generally takes advantage of narrow locations to better instill fear, Capcom intends on the contrary to expand its horizons. According to Dusk Golem, the Japanese giant intends to retain in Resident Evil 9 the substantial core that made the series successful. One might wonder how to keep such a promise in a vast open world.
The legacy of Dragon’s Dogma 2?
Until now, the very good in-house RE Engine had never been tested on a large open world. Its baptism of fire was ultimately Dragon’s Dogma 2. Despite a certain greed at the launch of the game, Capcom has proven that its engine is sufficiently robust for such an orientation. The latest title from the Japanese giant was therefore above all a sort of crash test, aiming to open the world to its two biggest licenses.
We already knew it from its first trailer: Monster Hunter Wilds intends to display a vast open world. Just its title is undoubtedly a very strong nod to Breath of the Wild. That Resident Evil 9 takes the same path is surprising, however. Let’s hope that Capcom will not have its eyes bigger than its stomach for this next opus. We unfortunately saw what a big budget and big ambitions did for the sixth installment. We will see the result a priori in 2025. As likely as this leak is, all this must of course be taken with a certain amount of caution.