Capcom was on the down and out as far as Resident Evil was concerned, having taken the biohazardous franchise far and away from its survival horror roots, in a considerably more "Michael Bay" direction. But the company and RE producer Masachika Kawata alongside it spoke of returning the franchise "to the roots" just last February, and it looks like work is already underway to do just that.
After testing the waters (seriously, no pun intended) with a console port of Resident Evil: Revelations, it looks like Capcom has already embarked on that return to the series acclaimed and dying roots that spit forth so many corpses. In a good way I mean...
Gematsu, via NeoGAF, is reporting that the LinkedIn profile of LA based costume designer Karen Brakenridge has listed Resident Evil 7 among her current works. However, it seems that after the Gematsu report, her LinkedIn profile has mysteriously vanished, so we'll have to rely on the legitimacy of some secondary reporting here. Though, as the RE series is all about information leaking form mysterious corporations, I do find the irony of her disappeared profile quite delicious, and does indeed add credo to the rumors.
According to the original NeoGAF post, Brakenridge had worked / is working with House of Moves, a Motion Capture and Animation studio who had also worked with Epic for Gears of War, allegedly, "the best vendor" the studio ever had. In that regard, feel free to come forward and take a bow Ms. Brakenridge!
Other House of Moves staffers boast similar acclaims, like Eric Lashelle, who was a Senior Animator for the similarly creepy themed Silent Hill V as his credits describe, or perhaps better known, Silent Hill: Homecoming.
Not to sound too dismissive of House of Moves employees, but surely even the most non-skilled of artists could do well to raise Resident Evil from the dismal boulder punching nonsense it's become. Provided this proves to be true, Capcom and gamers alike should feel a wave of relief that the future seems to be in reputable hands.
If Capcom ever confirms that another Resident Evil is indeed in development, we'll let you know. If that does prove to be the case, then they have some serious competition from developers even hungrier than the company's trademark zombies.
