As excitement builds for Resident Evil 9 ahead of its release on February 27, 2026, new details are slowly emerging. Fans are excited to see the return of survival horror roots, but the recent interview has revealed a surprising challenge for Capcom behind the scenes.
In the interview, Director Koshi Nakanishi shared that the team itself isn’t sure what’s truly frightening in the game, as they have become so desensitized to the series’ signature scares. He said:
We’ve made so many of these that we can’t tell anymore until someone else plays it.
This creative burnout could shape how Resident Evil: Requiem balances fear, tension, and gameplay in the final product.
Even Capcom Isn’t Sure What’s Scary Anymore in Resident Evil 9
At Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2025 (via IGN), director Koshi Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazama opened up about the struggles of keeping the franchise’s horror element intact after nearly three decades.
Nakanishi explained that the team has made so many RE titles that they’ve lost perspective on what players actually find scary. Before devs decided to do public demos, they even questioned whether Requiem was “actually scary” anymore.
The director noted that while the goal isn’t to constantly reinvent horror, constant exposure to it has a numbing effect. This has made the team become more dependent upon audience reactions to gauge success. Like when they showed the game hands-off at SGF and the first hands-on at Gamescom.
While sharing this detail, the director also shared a humorous story about an idea: a scene where the protagonist, Grace, loses her leg, but the team eventually decided to cut it, as it might be too far.
Why Requiem Still Promises a Terrifying Comeback
Despite the burnout from the devs, Resident Evil: Requiem still looks very promising. The game will be introducing Grace Ashcroft, a new female protagonist, along with a shift from the action-heavy adventures of Leon S. Kennedy.
In the same interview, Nakanishi also emphasised that the team wanted Requiem to offer a move back toward survival horror roots. Devs wanted to draw closer to Resident Evil 2’s claustrophobic tension rather than Resident Evil 4’s more action-oriented gunplay. He said:
I didn’t want to have to do that with Resident Evil’s ninth title where I just tried to outdo the action in Village and ended up making something I didn’t want to make.
By scaling back the action a bit, Capcom is aiming to go back to its roots and recapture the raw fear and vulnerability that defined early Resident Evil experiences.
While the developers may question their own sense of what’s scary anymore, fans are hopeful that this return to atmospheric dread, paired with a grounded and relatable lead, will breathe fresh life into the franchise.
Which Resident Evil game scared you the most? Let us know in the comment section below.
