While half of the top 10 list in the US were new releases for the month, the other half was made up of older games, like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, MLB: The Show 26, Crimson Desert, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Mario Kart World.

When taking the whole year into account, Resident Evil Requiem continues to take the top spot for game sales in the US. It is followed by Crimson Desert in second place and MLB: The Show 26 in third place. Despite being a relatively new release, 007 First Light has managed to do incredibly well by taking the fourth spot for the entire year so far, followed by Forza Horizon 6 in fifth. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the only new release to have broken through the top 10 sales for the year, coming in at 7th place.

007 First Light ended up getting quite a few accolades for its performance in May 2026, being the best-selling PlayStation game for the month, as well as the highest “full game dollar sales” of any James Bond game in history.

All in all, Piscatella has reported that total video game spending in the US for May 2026 hit $4.2 billion, which marks a 3 percent increase over May 2025. By the time the month was over, the year-to-date spending was 4 percent higher than last year, coming in at $23 billion.

Interestingly, Piscatella has noted that consoles served as the primary platform for game spending in May 2026 in the US, with total spending having gone up by 25 percent compared to last year. When taking year-to-date figures, console content spending is 13 percent higher. PC and subscriptions haven’t fallen behind either, coming in at 15 percent and 11 percent year-on-year increases, respectively.

Piscatella has also revealed details about console hardware sales in the US for May 2026, noting that both PlayStation and Xbox haven’t been doing too well. While it was the first May faced by PlayStation since 2000, Piscatella has confirmed that May 2026 was the worst May for Xbox since Microsoft launched the division. While there are likely many reasons for console sales falling in this regard, Piscatella also brought up the fact that price hikes have led to consoles simply getting too expensive. Xbox, for example, saw a 22 percent increase in average hardware price since 2025. PlayStation, on the other hand, saw an increase of 33 percent year-on-year.

“Xbox is currently tracking a distant third in hardware sales among the major manufacturers. But they are getting more revenue from each unit sold, enough to make dollar sales grow in May despite the unit drop,” said Piscatella. “If that fits the definition of ‘working’ or not, I don’t know.”

May 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.576Z

YTD 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.577Z

Content – Console drove content spending growth in May. Total spending on console content increased by 25% compared to a year ago and is now 13% higher year-to-date. PC content (+15% versus a year ago) and subscription spending (+11%) also grew in May.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.585Z

Content – 007 First Light was May’s leader in full game dollar sales, debuting as the 4th best-seller of 2026 year-to-date. It also led all titles in full game dollar sales on PlayStation platforms in the month.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.586Z

Dusk Golem went on to note that there is no “master plan” that Capcom has been following with regards to the Resident Evil franchise and its remake, and that the company isn’t really thinking that far in advance. Rather, the current operating procedure at the company revolves around 5-year plans, with reassessments happening every few years.

“The original tweet I was quote-tweeting is claiming Capcom has some plan to do a remake line leading up to Requiem and restructure the narrative as part of some long-term plan,” said Dusk Golem. “This is false, Capcom has no f***ing idea right now what they want to do with RE5 and RE6 in remaking them, if they ever even decide to do them (right now they’re not committed to that at all), and they definitely aren’t making these remakes as some idea to restructure the whole series to Requiem.”

“There’s not a plan right now to lead up to Requiem with the Remakes, and really, they’ll only decide what they want to do with an RE5/RE6 Remake if they ever decide to actually do them. There’s not some ‘master plan’ to any of this; they aren’t thinking that far ahead about it. They tend to keep to only thinking 5 years ahead at any time broadly and will reassess every few years where they should go with the franchise rather than planning some super long-term plan.”

The leaker went on to note that there is the possibility of a remake of Resident Evil 5 happening at some point in the future, and that it will likely come down to whether fans want it to happen, especially after Capcom wraps up its current plans that involve Resident Evil Veronica, and reportedly will include remakes of Resident Evil 0 and the original Resident Evil. “Capcom can’t ignore that,” they wrote.

“But the claim the quoted tweet was making is completely false in literally all its details. There is no plan to remake RE5/RE6 right now, there isn’t some initiative to remake all the Resident Evil games specifically, and they aren’t thinking of tying this Remake line to Requiem specifically. Veronica and Zero Remake will tie into Requiem, but honestly that has a lot more to do with the fact they were in dev at the same time as Requiem than any master plan idea, and Requiem specifically sets up Veronica & RE:0 to tie more into itself.”

It is worth noting that the original Resident Evil 5, while still considered a fun co-op action horror game by many, is also quite problematic for the franchise, since it led Resident Evil down a path that would eventually see the release of the much-maligned Resident Evil 6.

In the meantime, Resident Evil Veronica – a remake of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica – is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.

AestheticGamer (aka Dusk Golem) claims that it was “rebooted” mid-development and Capcom Division 1 is “currently leading it post-reboot.” The latter has been responsible for every single Resident Evil title since 2017, and is the same team working on Veronica. Why exactly this occurred is unknown, but the Resident Evil 3 Remake team was apparently in charge before. Perhaps Capcom felt more comfortable trusting Division 1 with the task instead, given their string of hits.

Of course, there’s also the question of Resident Evil Requiem’s story expansion, announced last March. While releasing it before Veronica would have made sense, it’s allegedly coming after. Dusk Golem says they need to “see how it plays out, but it’s been murmured to be further out.” The expansion allegedly focuses on Leon S. Kennedy and seemingly features Ada Wong, who’s been missing since Resident Evil 4 Remake.

Nevertheless, with a new Resident Evil, sequel or remake, launching yearly and seeing massive success, Capcom is in a comfortable enough position. As for Resident Evil Veronica, it’s allegedly launching in the first half of 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Hit up our feature for ten things we’d like to see changed.

Well, an interview with Automaton-Media might have some answers, as Masato Kumazawa, the game’s producer, has hinted at a destination that’s proving to be quite popular in recent games.

“I think a Japanese setting is something every Japanese Resident Evil fan has thought about, and I’ve also considered it myself. Since the development team is primarily based in Japan, I think every member has given it some thought. While Japan hasn’t appeared as a game setting so far, it might make an appearance at some point in the future.”

Given that it’s already familiar territory to a significant portion of Capcom’s development team, it could very well become a new hunting ground for its merry band of zombie hunters, one in which it retains quite the home advantage. If Requiem’s visuals were anything to go by, that could be a take on the country that we’re yet to see in a modern video game.

If anything, we’re hopeful that Capcom could leverage the under-utilized Umbrella Japan Co., Ltd, which pretty much folded after the Racoon City Destruction Incident. Perhaps someone has been surreptitiously using its sites without public knowledge as well? Time will tell, but in the meantime, the development team is seemingly returning to Resident Evil – Code: Veronica with an upcoming remake, reportedly releasing in 2027. Head here for more details.

But first and foremost, PlayStation is taking the spotlight with a 60+ minute State of Play on June 2nd. After its incredible showing last February, can it deliver an even bigger show? Maybe, but what can we expect? Here are 15 potential announcements and reveals, starting with…

Control Resonant’s Release Date

Alright, Remedy. We get it. You have a bigger, more ambitious sequel to the excellent Control, complete with deeper combat mechanics, more exciting enemies, tougher boss battles, and art direction that’s completely unlike anything else out there. Since the gameplay reveal happened at the last State of Play, it seems all but a given that a release date should be announced at the next. The wait has been killing us, so it’s now or never.

The Faye Situation

Multiple noted insiders, from NateTheHate to Jason Schreier, reported on its existence, and even a Santa Monica Studio writer indicated that they were working on a “new franchise” in the same universe on their LinkedIn. At this point, how can the spin-off not be revealed? Based on what we know, Faye will take center stage, accompanied by Merlin, a talking sword (so there’s the Arthurian legend covered), and even running into Tyr. It was rumored to be revealed in May or June, and lo and behold, here we are. That means that a potential launch in the first half of 2027 may also happen. Fingers crossed

Kena: Scars of Kosmora Release Date

Another sequel to file into the “bigger and more ambitious” category, Scars of Kosmora marks the return of the intrepid spirit guide, except she’s tougher and possesses more combat prowess. Based on what we’ve seen thus far, some new gameplay, a peek at Kena’s abilities and maybe some more gorgeous sights from Kosmora feel appropriate to showcase. And what better way to top it off than with a release date? As with Control Resonant, the clock is ticking, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Ember Lab wants to fill that “nowhere near GTA 6” slot as well.

Silent Hill: Townfall Release Window

Konami had quite the presence at February’s State of Play. You could call it a one-off to fill some time, but the fact that Silent Hill: Townfall is launching this year, exclusively on PS5 and PC, is set in stone. For now. I’m predicting something different at State of Play – a release window, with a more definitive release date sometime later (maybe at Gamescom Opening Night Live). It all comes down to development progress, which we’re completely in the dark on. Maybe Konami gives this smaller team (backed by Annapurna but still) some more time and delays it, or it goes ahead, marking a third straight year of Silent Hill. Either way, a simple “Autumn” couldn’t hurt, right?

Marvel’s Wolverine Reveals More Characters

You already know that Insomniac is going to show more from Marvel’s Wolverine, and maybe even open up pre-orders afterwards. But besides diving into the nitty-gritty and goriness of combat, who’s to say that some unannounced characters can’t show up? Perhaps, say, other members of the X-Men with a close connection to Logan? If nothing else, it would make for a hype moment (and maybe even more encouragement to pre-order).

Intergalactic Resurfaces

Last December, Naughty Dog was allegedly targeting mid-2027 for the launch of Intergalactic. Things may very well have changed since, so will Sony take a chance and reveal more now, maybe even committing to a vague release window for next year? Or will its current offerings be enough, and instead, it saves the announcement for a later occasion, giving the team more time to figure out where it’s at? Whatever the case, the fact that there’s only one PlayStation Studios console exclusive left for this calendar year means it needs to get the hype rolling for 2027. With NateTheHate claiming other exclusives at State of Play besides Marvel’s Wolverine and Faye’s game, Intergalactic is looking likely.

More MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Reveals

As the days count down to its August launch, and Arc System Works is less coy about revealing more characters, you can’t tell me it won’t repeat that pattern at State of Play. After all, players have already gone hands-on with the latest build featuring the Fighting Avengers. Maybe this next reveal will accompany an open beta announcement for July to incorporate any remaining feedback. And if ever there was a time for some villains to take center stage, this would be it.

Uncharted Returns

Shaun Escayg, creative director on whatever unknown project Naughty Dog is working on, I’ve come to bargain. That “research photo” in a location that feels more than vaguely fitting for the Uncharted franchise can’t be a fluke, and neither can all those rumors over the years about…something, be it remaster or sequel. Is it finally time to make the big announcement? Will there be a better time later (don’t say The Game Awards)? It’s a strong “maybe” either way.

Break In/Fairgame$

No more content updates for Destiny 2, Marathon not exactly setting the market on fire (even though Season 2 looks good)…who’s to say that Sony won’t just rip the band-aid off and re-reveal Fairgame$? Based on a recent trademark called Break In, it could be renamed, assuming that isn’t just a marketing tagline, and we may see a different (but still vaguely similar) heisting experience. Regardless, you probably shouldn’t expect a shadow drop, seeing as rumored playtests haven’t been going great.

Until Dawn 2 Announcement

Another PlayStation title that’s been a long time coming, but, you know, in a more positive way. Rumored since 2022, after a job description about a “triple-A narrative-driven horror-adventure game” following Sony’s acquisition of Firesprite. Rumored again in 2024 by Xbox Era. And then what should appear at the end of the Until Dawn remake but two new scenes, potentially hinting at something in the future? If it’s indeed happening – and not canned because of that awful movie – then it’s high time for an announcement.

Marvel’s Venom Announcement

While Insomniac Games tinkers away on Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 – rumor or not, you know it’s eventually happening – we may get Marvel’s Venom before. Jason Schreier refuted reports that the project was canned following voice actor Tony Todd’s passing, but its current development state remains unknown. Maybe Insomniac is saving it for a rainy day next Fall, when Sony needs a big exclusive. Hey, if it works for Nintendo and their first-party titles, why not for PlayStation? In that sense, if a reveal happens, a release window remains a toss-up.

Media Molecule’s Next Game

It’s been three years now since Media Molecule wrapped up support on Dreams and confirmed a new project was in the works. More recently, a designer’s portfolio indicated that it features “open-world content.” Correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation, though – neither of these two things means a State of Play reveal. But maybe the studio will confirm that it’s progressing smoothly, as a treat.

Resident Evil Requiem Story Expansion Reveal

A big announcement like the long-rumored Resident Evil – Code: Veronica Remake at Summer Game Fest, much like Resident Evil Requiem last year, sounds plausible enough. But the company could still unveil something Resident Evil-related before that. A trailer for the story expansion, perhaps confirming that Leon is the star, coupled with a tease of the allegedly included Ada Wong? It’s not impossible, especially with all the updates since Requiem’s launch, but gameplay and a release date may be a bit much.

Kingdom Hearts 4 Update

Speaking of which, it’s now over four years since the next mainline Kingdom Hearts was announced. At this point, we’re beginning to feel as stuck as Sora, desperately seeking something, anything new. With creative director Tetsuya Nomura claiming that the team is “working hard” towards the series’ 25th anniversary, which is next year, any news in 2026 may seem unlikely. But this is Kingdom Hearts and Nomura, so keep an open mind and expect the unexpected.

Untitled John Wick Game

After the surprise announcement of Saber Interactive’s untitled prequel to the blockbuster film series at the last State of Play…well, we want to see more. And since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake, which Saber took over since splitting from Embracer, is looking unlikely, I’m thinking that maybe John Wick is back again. Here’s hoping he brings an official title for the game this time around.

It encompasses “part” of the early stages, allowing you to play as newcomer Grace Ashcroft and the veteran Leon S. Kennedy. As with demos for prior releases, you can’t transfer progress to the game and continue your journey. The demo is a one-and-done affair, but as far as convincing you to dip into the full experience, it should be enough.

Resident Evil Requiem has sold 7 million units since launching on February 27th, garnering extensive critical acclaim (check out our review here). Not only is it the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, but also its biggest launch on Steam with 344,214 peak concurrent players.

Of course, the ride is far from over. After releasing the rogue-like Leon Must Die Forever mini-game (which is a fun if lackluster replacement for The Mercenaries), Capcom is working on a story expansion. Nothing has been revealed, but rumors claim it’s out this year, focuses on Leon and may even involve the enigmatic Ada Wong in some way.

This has marked the third consecutive fiscal year for Capcom where PC has been making up for most of the company’s game sales. Along with this, the company also confirmed that 93 percent of its total sales were digital copies rather than physical.

Back in 2025, Capcom had announced that its PC user base was growing, leading to it accounting for a majority of its game sales. At the time, 60 percent of all digital game sales were attributed to the platforms.

“In the consumer sub segment, our main growth driver, we will bolster global expansion of catalog sales based on digital data analysis,” said the company during the previous year’s earnings report. “At the same time, we will consistently launch new titles and strengthen sales during their initial release period.”

“We have widened our sales regions in recent years thanks to greater adoption of digital sales on PC, which has enabled us to sell our games even in countries and regions where dedicated game consoles are not available.”

“Looking ahead, we’ll raise the level of sales volume in lower-performing countries and regions, specifically in emerging countries, by strengthening our brands globally through further enhancing the accuracy of our data analysis and marketing for each country and region.”

Moving forward, Capcom expects its core Digital Contents business to see steady growth over time, “driven by an increase in game content and expansion of the global gaming user base.” It noted that the business environment itself was also going through significant changes, giving Capcom more distribution platforms for its products. With this in mind, the company wants to continue to work its way towards 100 million sales over the course of a single fiscal year. To achieve this, Capcom also wants to make sure that it has appropriate pricing for its games in place.

“In order to achieve the long-term milestone of 100 units in annual sales in its core Digital Contents business, the company will strengthen long-term pricing measures and global sales, working to enhance its sales network that extends into over 240 countries and regions while improving localized marketing and its understanding of user needs,” it said in its forecast.

The company managed to see immense success with the release of Resident Evil Requiem this year, which Capcom said led to a boost in “net sales, operating profit, ordinary profit and net profit”, leading it to “outperform our previously announced forecast.”

During its earnings report, the company also made a note of wanting to “nurture” some of its older IPs, including Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, with “sequels, remakes, ports, etc.” An example of this nurturing was provided in the form of the Netflix adaptation of Devil May Cry, as well as other properties getting their own new amusement equipment and arcade operations.

And we finally got it with Leon Must Die Forever. Compared to the free Photo Mode, this is an actual mini-game – something for players to sink their teeth into. With all the rumors about the first story expansion focusing on Leon (and featuring Ada Wong in some form), it felt like the perfect way for players to pass the time. Besides, Mercenaries and Raid Mode are some of the most beloved extra modes from the developer. What’s not to love?

Well, Leon Must Die Forever isn’t exactly either of those modes, and arguably not as long-lasting, but we’ll get to that. The first thing to note is that there’s only one playable character – Leon S. Kennedy. It makes sense given the focus on him – the mode is named after him, for crying out loud – and for much of the action in Requiem’s campaign, he was the guy. The man with the most in terms of weapons, ammo, and fancy melee attacks to destroy anything in his way.

This worked extremely well with the dichotomy of having to control Grace, whose experience was more akin to the classic Resident Evil survival horror. I don’t doubt that Leon by himself could work in a Mercenaries-style mode, but structurally, this isn’t the same.

Leon Must Die Forever is a rogue-like, plain and simple. You load in, armed with a single firearm, and start shooting zombies in familiar stages from the campaign, like the first level as Leon, where he’s battling foes on the rainy street as civilians run away. Actually, it’s pretty much exactly like that, which is curious.

Slaying them doesn’t grant extra time – instead, you’ll need to shoot the glowing spiders crawling around for the same. They’ll drop ammo and other items, which can also be scavenged from nearby crates. You can also find special military-issued crates with weapons, gradually working your way up to a formidable arsenal. Much like the campaign, however, there’s limited space in the attache case, so you’ll need to prioritize keeping or dropping some weapons.

Once you’ve cleared out enough enemies, you can interact with a small sign and go to the next stage. Yes, just like that – there’s no cutscene or natural flow between stages. Just select the stage on the fancy flowchart, with Slay the Spire-style branching depending on the level of difficulty, and you load in with some text-on-screen.

Of course, there is a hook to all this, and it involves unlocking Enhancers for Leon. Every time he levels up, he can choose three options – kind of like those Survivors-style games – and choose to increase the damage of different weapon types. Occasionally, you’ll run into options which grant a damage boost based on the number of empty slots in your case, so ditching everything else and sticking with a single handgun while hoarding ammo becomes a viable strategy. Or, heck, go full melee, especially with enhancers like Proximity Boost, which increases your attack power against enemies within 10 feet by 60 percent but decreases it by 40 percent if you’re further away.

If you don’t like the options available, there’s a Shuffle option available. Some special zombies will pop up, requiring successful parries to deal damage. Rinse and repeat until you reach a boss, then eventually go up against the end boss (which is who you would expect).

And that’s pretty much it. You can unlock some cosmetics, like a goofy hat for Leon that’s essentially his Porsche. But if it weren’t obvious already, there are a lot of problems, starting with the fact that this isn’t Mercenaries. In fact, it feels more like a remixed version of the campaign with rogue-like elements, perhaps meant for those who want to experience similar levels and boss fights without actually having to replay the game.

The problem in both cases is that (a) it lacks some of the most memorable set pieces, like Grace desperately trying to fight out of a meat grinder scenario or Leon’s motorcycle shenanigans, and (b) it doesn’t even let you freely select the bosses. For the latter, a proper boss rush would have been far better.

The development team never promised Mercenaries, so fair play to them. But when this is what you’re offering instead, it’s a given that players will expect more. Also, trying to throw in a timer which doesn’t even extend by taking out zombies unless you unlock an upgrade makes this feel so much more blasé. It effectively removes any sense of tension, if the looping repetitive music didn’t already do that for you.

One could compare this to a lite version of the Raid Mode from Resident Evil Revelations, and that’s certainly one way to put it. That mode had multiple playable characters, each with unique abilities, passives and cosmetics. Even if the developer didn’t want to factor in Grace and “ruin” her survival horror fantasy in the campaign, there were plenty of other potential candidates. You could have had Sherry running around, or Xeno unleashing his abilities on the hordes. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t enough time to rig those animations or design enhancers that would make sense for their playstyles. After all, it would be weird if Sherry had a hatchet and Leon’s parrying prowess.

But that’s not all that makes this come across like some hastily put-together mode. Because many of Leon’s classic one-liners are in the cutscenes – and they’re clearly absent here – you’ll be hearing him say he’s “sick of this” a lot. Like a LOT. Non-cutscene story dialogue remains in certain places, which makes the final boss that much weirder and further reinforces the whole “remixed campaign” allegations. There are no new Achievements or Trophies.

Even if you’re approaching this as a pure rogue-like experience, there’s not a whole lot of variety. Layouts and enemy types are mostly the same throughout, and even the potential builds aren’t as extensive as you would think. Having multiple characters with different passives and maybe some unique weapons could have helped, but the basic foundation of Leon Must Die Forever just feels too simple.

Of course, if there’s one consolation, it’s that the tab says “Extra Games.” Maybe there are other such mini-games in the works, potentially to be added with the first story expansion. I still wouldn’t get my hopes up for some kind of Mercenaries or Raid Mode, but you never know.

For what it’s worth, Leon Must Die Forever is what it is – a free mini-game that’s fun for a few runs while you chase a high score. It’s perfect for those who want to get in and start blasting as Leon without thinking too much about the plot, any extraneous build-crafting or sense of flow. From that perspective, it’s well enough, but it could have been so much more, and at this point, you can’t really blame fans for expecting as much given the heights this genre is capable of.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

While it’s no Mercenaries mode, there are five difficulties, and you’ll still need to beat the clock. Easier said than done when tougher enemies abound, but by taking them down, you can fill the enhancement gauge and unlock one of three abilities to add to your loadout. There’s certainly a rogue-like element to it as the options change with each run.

One of those even sees Leon enhanced in a purple glow with red eyes, hatchet in a zombie’s neck, his bloodlust seemingly unsatisfied. Suffice it to say that combat fans will find plenty to love about this update.

Other notable additions include the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, haptic feedback and motion sensor working on PC alongside various bug fixes. Capcom also wants to remind you that the series’s first amiibos, Grace Ashcroft (sadly missing from this new mode) and Leon, will be available on July 30th for Nintendo Switch 2.

Resident Evil Requiem is also available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It’s sold seven million copies since launching on February 28th. Check out our review here.

Talking about the role zombies tend to play in horror media, Nakanishi noted that the undead creatures represent “this terrifying idea that they were once human, but they’re not anymore. And seeing that reflected back on the person is what makes it scarier than just a monster that was never related to a human being. But we’ve seen so many zombies over the years that if we can’t make them do something a little out of the ordinary or unpredictable, then they start to become more difficult to make consistently scary.”

Keeping this desire to make its zombies more unique, the team behind Resident Evil Requiem decided to tap into the idea that the creatures might be “slightly more human,” which in turn further helps make the entire environment feel creepier.

“It’s creepier to see that they’re slightly more human in the sense that they’re repeating certain actions,” explained Nakanishi. “It almost looks like you could go up to them and talk to them and ask them what’s happening. But of course, they wouldn’t be able to reply. And that unsettlingness of them being almost human, but not quite, is something we wanted to use as the core of making them scary this time around.”

Kumazawa chimes in by also bringing up parts of Resident Evil Requiem that are suspiciously lacking in zombies. These moments tend to add to the tension that players might be feeling, since they can never be sure about where the zombies might pop out from.

“It can be scarier in scenes where there aren’t any zombies yet. Because the tension of not knowing where they’re going to come from, or if they’re going to appear at a particular moment, can be scarier than the specific moment you actually encounter a zombie. So that pacing of when to introduce a zombie into a scene or into a section of the game is really important; I think maintaining that tense fear throughout is what I’d say is scarier to me than just a jump scare or having constant threats.”

All of this was thought up by Capcom as part of the early design process for Resident Evil Requiem, which essentially revolved around re-examining the concept of fear. Noting that there are plenty of horror games in the world that do a good job of scaring players, Nakanishi said that the balance between fear and catharsis offered by Resident Evil Requiem is the franchise’s entire essence.

“There are obviously other horror games out there that try and induce a sense of fear in the player. So I think Resident Evil‘s essence is the balance between the feeling of intense pressure from handling horror situations and the catharsis you get from being able to survive them and also fight back against them.”

Resident Evil Requiem is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. For more, read our review.