Ex-Capcom manager Miguel E. Corti has taken to Bluesky to discuss the development of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard; the game largely credited for reviving the survival horror franchise following the poor critical reception to Resident Evil 6.

It's a long thread, but well worth a read. While we will compile some of the more notable anecdotes from Corti, we encourage you to head on over to the thread and give it your full attention – especially if you're a fan of Resident Evil and the seventh mainline entry in particular.

So, let's dive into some of the key points (spoilers for key story beats to follow):

• Capcom started work on RE7 at "the height of anti-Japanese games sentiment". Call of Duty dominated the industry when Resident Evil 6 launched. Despite strong sales for Capcom's blockbuster, it pleased neither horror fans nor action fans. Call of Duty's inclusion of a zombie mode exacerbated this.
• The Last of Us gaining such strong critical reception was a huge influence on RE7: Biohazard. The development team wanted the same, but believed the answer was to tie the game into the wider series' lore even more than before. Multiple potential protagonists were on the table, including Leon, Jill, Rebecca, and even Hunk. As Corti puts it, "It was so all over the place, I lost track of the versions".
• After a reorganisation at Capcom, development restarted on RE7, with a couple of cancelled projects and Revelations 2 having a large impact on its direction. This is when the decision to shift the perspective to first-person was made.
• The director wanted to take the game back to its roots, with a focus on survival horror. Evil Dead (2013) was considered a huge influence, evident in the use of the name Mia (the movie's protagonist and a key character in RE7).
• RE7's protagonist, Ethan Winters, was originally intended to be silent. However, this was abandoned when the decision was made to have his wife, Mia, kidnapped and presumed dead. It wouldn't be right to have a silent protagonist go through such a traumatic event, however there are still hints at the original direction for Ethan, as Corti notes that he "probably under-reacts to many things" during the story.
• The section in which you have to make a choice whether to save Mia or Zoe (a supporting member of the Baker family who helps Ethan) was added when the story was "almost done". According to Corti, all the Japanese devs chose Mia, while the non-Japanese devs chose Zoe. When the director asked Corti why he chose Zoe, he said "She's Ethan's wife, not mine. He thinks she's dead and then cuts off his hand and tries to kill him. Zoe has helped me/him and needs help".
• The story was called into question at this point, with Mia's introductory scene supposedly shoehorned in to make you feel some connection to her. However, her shady involvement with an evil organisation was made apparent after you save her, which was apparently "frustrating for many involved, especially the writer".
• Devs worried about the game's reception then decided to add more "classic" elements to the game, which is why Chris Redfield shows up at the end. The writer chose to have him wear the Umbrella logo on his sleeve to get people talking, but players were more bothered by the fact that Chris didn't look like the more familiar model from earlier games. Because RE7 included photoscanned models, they couldn't find anyone who looked like the Chris we know and love, yet they still needed quality parity with the other characters.
• Despite a slow start (3 million sales in a year), RE7 did have legs. The strong critical reception helped, and the subsequent hype surrounding RE: Village pushed new players to experience RE7 first. The fact that is was largely divorced from the series wider lore resonated well with newer players.

So there you have it! Can you imagine if RE7 starred Hunk instead? What a nightmare. Again, it's worth reading the whole thread if you can; there's a brief section on Code Veronica that's quite illuminating.

We're thankful for RE7 though. The hard work eventually paid off, and it kickstarted what is arguably the golden era for Capcom.

What do you make of this development breakdown for RE7? Leave a comment with your thoughts in the usual place and let us know.