Shinji Mikami, the founder of Tango Gameworks, in a recent discussion with Jun Takeuchi, the executive producer of Resident Evil 7, talked about the game’s development. Takeuchi confirmed that Capcom originally planned for Resident Evil 7 to be a live service title with online multiplayer and microtransactions as well (via VGC).
He said that when Capcom started work on Resident Evil 7, the team started from scratch, rethinking what horror is. He talked a lot with the director, Koshi Nakanishi, prior to starting development about what their plan was.
Takeuchi went on to explain that during the early development period, there was a big marketing push from the company to make games people were asking for. Namely, the pressure was put on the directors to somehow implement live service features into the game.
The team was constantly being told to add multiplayer features, downloadable content, microtransactions, ongoing service games, etc., and Resident Evil 7 was supposed to tick all these boxes according to the upper management.
Saving Resident Evil 7
But luckily, Kenzo Tsujimoto, the president of Capcom, came to save the day and put a stop to these requirements. Giving the team more creative freedom without meeting marketing demands. Takeuchi said:
“Seriously, there were so many demands… those poor directors. Finally, our president, [Kenzo] Tsujimoto stepped in. He’d heard about all the unsuccessful attempts at that point. So this is one of those unforgettable moments for me.”
The story about how he was called by the president called him to his office is quite memorable for him. He was tasked with working on Resident Evil 7 because the development was not going well.
“It was January 4, the first working day of the new year. The president called me to his office. ‘Resident Evil 7 is in pretty bad shape. Takeuchi-Kun, step in and help make it!’ So that’s how I ended up working on Resident Evil 7.”
The whole idea about making a multiplayer horror game died off pretty quickly since the team didn’t have any good ideas. He said it was possible to make a good multiplayer horror game, and given the time and creative freedom, the Capcom team would have worked something out.
Luckily, Resident Evil 7 turned out the way it did. The game was not only a great return to form but also resulted in a better future for the franchise. As Resident Evil 8 followed in the footsteps of its predecessor.
