When Capcom developed Resident Evil 7: Biohazard over ten years ago, the game looked distinctly different from the one fans know today. Former Capcom manager Miguel Corti recently took to Bluesky to share a wealth of interesting behind-the-scenes facts, including which iconic franchise inspired RE7.
Resident Evil 7 took a risk in introducing an entirely new set of characters, including Ethan Winters, his wife, Mia, and the Baker family, who gladly welcome the Winters couple into their home. Granted, that home is overrun with mold-covered creatures intent on harming Ethan as he searches for Mia, and the Bakers are also infected, so their hospitality is rather unpleasant. The game was linked to earlier franchise entries by the appearance of Chris Redfield, a leading character introduced in Resident Evil.
Miguel revealed that an early inspiration for Resident Evil 7 was Naughty Dog’s adrenaline-pumping, horror-infused shooter, The Last of Us. Back then, the focus was on taking elements from TLOU, like its character-driven narrative, especially the crucial, emotional relationship that drove Joel. Like Joel’s loss early in the first game, Ethan’s relationship with, and desperate search for, his missing wife became a core focus of the plot.
Speaking of Mia, Miguel initially worried players wouldn’t connect with her and that her backstory didn’t make sense. That’s why developers introduced Chris and a revamped Umbrella. The corporation was now known as Blue Umbrella, which opposed the Connections, the mysterious company where Mia worked.
RE7 could have centered around a narrative-focused, single-player experience
Capcom also hoped to get the same widespread praise The Last of Us received, perhaps because of Resident Evil 6’s reception. While the game sold well, its reviews weren’t great. This mixed reception plays into another disclosure Miguel made on the social media platform – Resident Evil 7 was initially intended to be a direct continuation of RE6, rather than the soft reboot it ended up being.
According to Miguel, one of the original ideas floating around as RE7 was first taking shape was to bring back Leon Kennedy, a central character in the previous game, along with Resident Evil 2 and 4. Other characters were also on the drawing board, including Jill Valentine and Rebecca Chambers, who hadn’t been playable in a mainline game since the 2002 Resident Evil remaster.
While Resident Evil 7 underwent a major transformation before its January 2017 release, it returned the franchise to its survival horror roots after the more action-focused fifth and sixth games. It led to a direct sequel, Resident Evil 8: Village, and the revitalized survival horror theme continued with Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil 9: Requiem. Ethan and Mia seem to have had their day, but they made a real impact in the meantime.
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