Capcom’s next major Resident Evil game is possibly in development and moving towards a play testing phase. Capcom hasn’t confirmed that the next installment of their ultra-popular survival horror games is in the works, but an invite that went out to the game’s Ambassadors Club in Japan is a big indicator that something’s cooking.
According to the website Biohaze, Capcom’s Division 1 sent the invites to members of the “Biohazard Ambassadors,” which is what Resident Evil games are title in Japan. The invitation’s message was translated by Biohaze as follows:
To all Resident Evil Ambassadors,
Thank you for your patronage regarding the Resident Evil series.
Today, we are letting you know that we are recruiting testers for a game that’s in development!!
We are interested in incorporating the feedback of all Ambassadors into our development, so please read the details below and, if you are interested in participating, click the Entry button.
Division 1 is the section of Capcom responsible for developing both Devil May Cry and Resident Evil games, but there isn’t any clear reason why Capcom would search for play testers for a new Devil May Cry game or DLC from a different franchise’s fanbase.
Biohazard Ambassadors are an official Capcom Resident Evil fan club that operates worldwide, and Capcom is searching for testers exclusively among the club. The invite also stipulates that testers be avid players of the franchise, but didn’t clarify how deep their familiarity with the games needs to be to qualify.
Play testing for this mysterious Resident Evil game is scheduled to begin on September 8th or 9th at an undisclosed location in Shinjuku, Japan, where testers will be selected. Biohaze adds that an Ambassadors meeting was held in late June 2019 in Japan as well.
It isn’t known whether Capcom is planning on a Resident Evil 8 next or will go with a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for current generation platforms to follow the success of Resident Evil 2 Remake. There are rumors circulating that Resident Evil 3 is underway, and Capcom did say that they would work on remaking the game if there was enough interest in Resident Evil remakes.
It could also be something else entirely. In any case, a play test is a good indicator that Division 1 has started working on something, which will make Resident Evil fans everywhere happy.