Resident Evil Requiem director responds to open-world game theory

The release of Resident Evil Requiem is fast approaching, and the director of the franchise, Koshi Nakanishi, may have just ruined it for certain gamers.

The director of Resident Evil has officially dispelled “open-world” rumours about the new game, and some fans are likely to be devastated.

In an interview, Nakanishi said that speculation surrounding whether Resident Evil Requiem will be an open-world game is just that, speculation.

Nakanishi, via an interpreter, told Game Informer that “this isn’t an open world game.” Instead, the main concept is a combination of different gameplay types that will “represent the Resident Evil series.”

“I think when you play the game, you realize that, or you will find as well that the development team picked the best approach to do this,” Nakanishi told Game Informer.

Open-world gameplay refers to a virtual world in which players aren’t guided through objectives in a linear fashion.

Historically, the Resident Evil franchise has adopted a linear, more structured gameplay style, rather than an open-world approach that allows users to interact with their environment freely.

Speculation surrounding the new installment of the franchise was sparked by an Nvidia trailer featuring a lively city street.

This fueled questions surrounding whether the game would be open-world, a departure from the linear structure of the former Resident Evil titles.

Not only did this spark speculation, but it also fueled concerns from gamers who saw this as an unnecessary pivot from Resident Evil’s original style.

“I am immediately alarmed by this,” said one Reddit user in a thread found by IGN.

“Open world and Capcom don’t mix. This is gonna run like total fucking ass,” said another.

Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth game in the franchise and is set to be released on February 27th, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

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